The 28-year-old man's arrest Tuesday night followed an extensive manhunt in the Midwest as police in Sheley's hometown of Rock Falls, Ill., named him a suspect in the killings of two men, a woman and a child, while police in Festus, Mo., tried to make sense of the bloody slayings of a visiting Arkansas couple.
In addition, Sheley faces charges including first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated vehicular hijacking in the death of Ronald Randall, 65, whose body was found behind a grocery in Galesburg, Ill. An autopsy showed Randall died of blunt force trauma to the head, likely on Saturday. Sheley also is charged with murder in the death of 93-year-old Russell Reed in Sterling, officials said.
For two days, investigators in the St. Louis area stayed close on Sheley's trail by tracking calls he made to family members and a lawyer with cell phones he borrowed from strangers, according to a law-enforcement source. The last of those calls, early Tuesday evening, led the investigators to Granite City in southwestern Illinois.
"We knew he was in the area, but we couldn't quite get close enough to get to him," said one police officer close to the case.
Tired and broke, Sheley was captured at a tavern in Granite City, about 10 miles from downtown St. Louis.
On Wednesday, Sheley made his first court appearance, conducted by video teleconference in Edwardsville, Ill. He told Madison County Circuit Judge Edward Ferguson that he would not be able to raise $100,000 in cash needed to make his $1 million bail in the Galesburg case.
Authorities from Knox County were expected to pick up Sheley at the Madison County Jail, perhaps as early as Wednesday evening, and take him to Galesburg to face charges in Randall's murder. Authorities allege Sheley drove Randall's truck to Festus, Mo., south of St. Louis, where he allegedly encountered the Arkansas couple outside a motel late Sunday.
Police said they believe Sheley beat Tom and Jill Estes with a tire iron and a heavy-duty flashlight before shoving them into the truck.
"We think they were still alive in the bed of the pickup," the officer added. "According to the way the blood was spattered, we think Sheley stopped the vehicle at some point and beat them some more."
Police also said that afterward, Sheley allegedly went to a nearby store and bought new clothes. Bloody clothes were found in a trash bin near the store.
Sheley has had a number of brushes with the law, racking up seven felony cases since 1997, including a coming trial in the 2007 home invasion, in which authorities said he entered the home of Cory Olalde and allegedly fired a gunshot at the Rock Falls man.
It was for that charge that Sheley was released from prison in January of this year under the Illinois statute. His bail was originally set at $250,000, according to court documents.
Sheley was named a suspect in another home invasion June 14 in Sterling in which a man pushed his way into the home of a 90-year-old woman, forced her to write checks and took some cash, police said.
Olalde, 31, and his wife Alicia, 27, said they and their three children were afraid to return to their Rock Falls home while Sheley was on the run; Cory Olalde said authorities called him Saturday and advised him to go into hiding.
The Olaldes wondered why Sheley was not placed on home confinement when he was released on his own recognizance.
"Nick didn't have the proper care that [he] needed as a violent offender and a drug offender," said Alicia Olalde. "And the public didn't have the protection they needed."
The 2006 home invasion charges were dropped when the only witness refused to testify. Sheley was accused of forcing his way into Douglas Keefer's home, robbing Christopher Cornell at knifepoint as he was delivering cocaine to Keefer's apartment, authorities said.
Keefer's body was found the next day behind his home, according to court documents. Sheley was not a suspect in the murder, but he was arrested and charged with home invasion and armed robbery. Those charges were dropped, however, when Cornell would not testify against him. "There was no way to legitimately convict him of the crime," said Michael Lancaster, Sheley's defense attorney in that case. "Mr. Cornell chose not to come forward and make an incriminating statement against Sheley, and Sheley exercised his right not to testify against himself."
Azam Ahmed and James Kimberly are Tribune reporters; Bill Bryan is a freelance reporter in St. Louis. Tribune reporters James Janega and Ted Gregory also contributed to this report.
aahmed@tribune.com
jkimberly@tribune.com
Nicholas T. Sheley
Following a manhunt in two states, police have arrested Nicholas Troy Sheley whom authorities suspect in eight murders in the United States. The FBI launched the manhunt on Tuesday after four victims were discovered on June 30, 2008.

Sheley was arrested without incident after being recognized in a bar in Granite City, Illinois. Two regular customers, Gary Range and Samantha Butler, and bartender Jennifer Lloyd recognized Sheley who had entered and ordered a glass of water. Range told the Associated Press that he then found a police officer parked nearby.

"I told the police officer the description and the officer said, 'That's him.' He got on the radio and eventually there were police all over the place," Range said.

According to Sgt. Thomas J. Burek, Illinois State Police, the FBI, and the St. Louis Major Crimes Task Force, Sheley was apprehended without a struggle. He was arrested when he stepped out of the bar to have a cigarette and found himself surrounded.

"He was desperate and he gave up without a fight," said Tim Lewis, police chief in Festus, Missouri. "He looks rough. He's had a rough two days."

Sheley is being held at Madison County Jail in Edwardsville. He appeared before County Judge Edward Ferguson and was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and vehicular hijacking in the case of Ronald Randall. The 65-year old victim was beaten to death in Galesburg, Illinois on Saturday and found on Monday. Sheley is being held on US$1 million bail, which he indicated he would be unable to post.

Sheley's cousin, Eric Smith, is being held on obstruction of justice charges, while Sheley's brother, Josh Sheley, is being charged with concealing a homicidal death and obstructing justice.

Sheley's wife and uncle have both told reporters that Sheley, 28, is addicted to drugs and alcohol and prone to violence when under the influence of these substances.

Nicholas Sheley will also be charged with the murder of 93-year old Russell Reed in Sterling, Illinois, said the Whiteside County prosecutor. Medical examiners estimate that Reed was killed on June 23.

On Monday, the bodies of Brock Branson, 29, and Kenneth Ulve Jr., 25, of Rock Falls, Illinois along with Kilynna Blake, 20, and Dayan Blake, 2, of Cedar City, Utah were found. Police say that Sheley knew both Branson and Ulwe. The two were found in an apartment in Rock Falls and are believed to have died late Saturday or early Sunday.

Tom and Jill Estes of Sherwood, Arkansas were found in Festus, Missouri at a Comfort Inn, also on Monday. They were found after another guest at the hotel reported two dogs covered in blood in the parking lot. The couple had been visiting the area for a graduation and family reunion. Although 250 miles (400 km) away, this case was linked after Sheley's fingerprints were found in Randall's truck which was abandoned in Festus.

All eight victims succumbed to blunt force trauma.