Supporters of both the prosecution and the defense are unsatisfied with William Curl’s acceptance of a plea deal.

Curl pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder in the 2010 murder of freshman Antinette “Toni” Keller as part of a plea bargain at the DeKalb County Courthouse Wednesday.

Keller was last seen Oct. 14, 2010, on her way to Prairie Park in DeKalb. Keller’s remains were found days later, and Curl was charged with her murder Oct. 29, 2010.

Curl’s plea agreement means he will serve a sentence of 37 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Curl must serve the 37-year sentence at 100 percent but will get credit for time served. He has already served 889 days, or 2.4 years, in the DeKalb County Jail. Four counts of first degree murder, one count of arson and one count of criminal sexual assault were dismissed as part of the agreement.

Uncertain Events

Keller was last seen leaving Neptune Residence Hall on Oct. 14, 2010, on her way to Prairie Park in DeKalb to work on an art project. Keller’s remains were found in the park on Oct. 16, 2010. Curl interviewed with police and fled to Louisiana after the police asked for a follow-up interview. Curl was arrested in Louisiana on Oct. 26, 2010, and charged with Keller’s murder in Illinois three days later.

Throughout the legal process, Curl offered three different accounts in regard to the events of Oct. 14, 2010.

When Curl was initially interviewed by police he said he knew nothing of Keller. Curl later said he had found Keller’s body and burned it in the park but did not commit the murder. At another point, Curl said he had sex with Keller and the student had a seizure that led to her death. He said he burned her body after.

‘He Would Have Been Out of Prison Before Thanksgiving’

County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack was confident this plea agreement was the best option for the case.

“While we believe a jury would have convicted him of murder following a trial, his sentence could have ranged from 20-60 years, and had he been convicted only of arson and acquitted of the other charges, he would have been out of prison before Thanksgiving,” Schmack said. “This was an extraordinarily complex and challenging case….”

First-degree murder charges are punishable by 20 to 60 years in a state penitentiary.

Keller’s family has publicly expressed disgust with the plea agreement.

“This is what the guilty do,” said Thelma Holderness, a friend of the Keller family. “They stall and stall when they know they’re guilty, and then they make a deal. What he has done with this does not surprise me. It’s the state’s attorney’s actions that disgust me.”

Holderness did not know Keller personally but reached out to her family after her disappearance and has become a spokesperson for the family.

Family’s Pain

The Keller family submitted a victim impact statement to Judge Robbin Stuckert, who has overseen the case since it was filed.

Assistant State’s Attorney Phil Montgomery read the statement in the court room.

“Try to imagine, if you can, never seeing your child again, never hearing her laugh, never hearing the sound of their voice, never smelling the scent you have come to recognize as your child…,” Montgomery read. “You have never felt longing like this in your life…. Now imagine every single thing that used to give you joy and pleasure turns into hurt and despair overnight. Not a gradual thing, but going from pleasure to hurt, from happiness to sadness, from peace to no peace, changing overnight. Everything you loved now hurts like hell….”

Curl’s family was also displeased with the outcome of the agreement. The defendant’s sister, Moria Curl, cried out during Curl’s court appearance, discouraging her brother from entering into the deal.

“Don’t take it, Billy!” his sister said. “They’re railroading you. Don’t take it!”

She was removed from the courtroom but continued to shout.

Former state’s attorney Clay Campbell, who was in office when Keller disappeared, said the agreement was outrageous.

‘Everyone is Looking For a Guarantee in This World’

“I’m deeply saddened today by the agreement made by the State’s Attorney’s Office and Mr. Curl’s attorneys,” Campbell said. “Two years ago when I met Antinette’s parents, I made a personal commitment to them that I would seek the maximum punishment allowable under the law for these horrendous crimes…and the fact that Mr. Schmack’s office decided not to honor that commitment that I made to the family personally saddens me.”

Curl entered the agreement on what is known as an Alford plea, and he maintains his innocence. Curl’s public defender, Tom McCulloch, said there was likely enough evidence against Curl to prosecute more heavily than the plea agreement allows but the agreement has positive effects for both the defense and the prosecution.

“Everyone is looking for a guarantee in this world,” McCulloch said. “They were looking for a plea and a guarantee that he would be in prison for a substantial period of time. We were looking for a guarantee that would not have him away for the rest of his life….”

Schmack defended the decision to enter into the plea agreement and compared Curl’s case to highly publicized trials where the outcome was not what the public deemed justice.

“This is a case where the outcome was not assured,” he said. “I think I could point…to cases that were covered in states that have televised court trials–O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony–where everyone thought it was a strong case, and the verdict came back not guilty, and some of those cases were stronger, or would appear to be stronger, than ours.”

‘Justice Was Served’

Schmack maintains that this is the best outcome for both sides. He said prosecutors could not risk the chance of Curl going to trial and not having enough evidence to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“I call the case challenging because it would have involved a trial without occurrence witnesses, a murder weapon, a time of death, a cause of death, limited forensic evidence, and no confession…,” Schmack said. “In all those preparations, Toni Keller and the suffering of her family was never out of their thoughts. They also had to consider the gross injustice of a potential verdict of not guilty, and the unimaginable pain that would have meant for her loved ones.”

Schmack said he believes the outcome was just.

“We obtained a guilty plea and brought the criminal to justice, so in that general sense, yes, justice was served…,” Schmack said. “We do not view the possibility that he might outlive his sentence and get out at age 71 as an unacceptable risk to society. He’ll come out of prison as a man who served 37 years for committing a crime. He’ll know that the system does not let people get away with that. So, in all those respects, we believe justice was served.”

Curl will be released when he is 71 years old. Upon his release, he will be required to be in the supervised police program formerly known as parole.