William P. Curl, the man charged with the murder of Antinette “Toni” Keller, will appear in court today at 8:45 a.m. before Judge Robbin Stuckert for a status hearing.

Curl, 34, of DeKalb, had his first court appearance Saturday morning in the DeKalb County Courthouse, where he was appointed a public defender.

It was announced during a press conference Oct. 29 by DeKalb County State’s Attorney John Farrell that Curl, of the 500 block of Taylor St. in DeKalb, was charged with arson, sexual criminal assault and five counts of first-degree murder committed on or about Oct. 14.

Curl left Illinois Oct. 23, the day DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen announced the Keller case had been reclassified as a death investigation.

Feithen said Curl was arrested after he stole his mother’s car and fled to Mexico, but was found coming back over the border into the United States.

“We became interested in Curl after he failed to appear for a scheduled interview with us,” he said. “At that point, we had reason to believe he had material information and he fled the jurisdiction to avoid providing that information to police.”

The interview was scheduled for Oct. 25 and would have been his second with DeKalb Police.

Background

Curl became a person of interest in the Keller case after the initial charges, obstruction of justice and unlawful possession of a motor vehicle, had been filed.

Feithen said Curl, a long-time resident of DeKalb, was known to frequent Prairie Park, the last place Keller was known to be headed.

“They were in a secluded area and we know she had walked to the park and he was in the park and found her,” Feithen said.

Feithen said he believes the incident was a “crime of opportunity.”

“There is no reason for us to believe that there are other victims,” Feithen said. “It was an isolated incident.”

Farrell said no additional arrests regarding the case have been made.

“We don’t anticipate there will be any further arrests or further charges,” Farrell said.

U.S. Marshals took Curl into custody Oct. 26 in Covington, La. for unlawful possession of a converted motor vehicle and obstruction of justice. He was extradited to Illinois the morning of Oct. 29.

“We were able to track his whereabouts after he returned…to the United States,” Feithen said. Curl’s credit card use was one way authorities were able to track his location, he added.

Court appearance

Curl appeared at the hearing by means of a closed-circuit TV from DeKalb County Jail. He was wearing an orange jump suit with his hands handcuffed behind his back. When James Donnelly, DeKalb County Circuit 16th Judicial District judge, read the first two charges, Curl lowered his head but appeared unemotional throughout the hearing.

All first-degree murder charges are Class M felonies punishable by 20-60 years in a state penitentiary and/or a fine not to exceed $25,000 and a three year mandatory supervised release.

Donnelly said if the state could establish beyond a reasonable doubt that aggravating factors of “exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior” were committed in conjunction with the murder of Keller, Curl could be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Donnelly said if the felonies of criminal sexual assault or arson were committed during the course of Keller’s murder, Curl could face the death penalty.

The charge of criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony, is punishable between four and 15 years imprisonment if found guilty.

Curl’s arson charge is for damage done by fire to some of Keller’s personal property including clothing, a cell phone and a camera. This is a Class 2 felony punishable by between three to seven years of imprisonment if found guilty.

Curl was charged on Oct. 26 with unlawful possession of a converted motor vehicle, or taking a motor vehicle for a longer time period or a further distance than permissible by the vehicle’s owner. This charge is a Class 2 felony, punishable by between three to seven years imprisonment if found guilty.

Curl was charged with obstructing justice for failing to appear for his second interview with DeKalb Police, impeding the investigation into Keller’s disappearance. This Class 4 felony is punishable by between one to three years imprisonment if found guilty.

All charges were filed by the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Donnelly said Curl is presumed innocent of all charges until proven guilty.

Following up

Feithen said on Sunday the DeKalb County Major Case Squad’s is still following up on a lot tips in the investigation.

“Tips were called in and have to be looked at and prioritized on how they fit into the investigation,” Feithen said.

Oct. 14 to Oct. 18 is the time frame for which police are asking for information about suspicious subjects and activities, especially fires, in Prairie Park, now that Curl’s photo has been circulated.

“The [Major Case Squad] thought it was important if it jogged anyone’s memory,” Feithen said.

Feithen said the human remains found Oct. 16 in Prairie are still yet to be positively identified. Feithen said the earliest they could possibly be identified would be in about week.

Assistant State’s Attorney Phil Montgomery said after the hearing Curl has a prior criminal history including criminal damage to property.

Developments

Montgomery said he doesn’t believe there will be many significant developments during Curl’s second court appearance on Monday because it will take a while to assemble all of the police reports that have been filed during the Keller investigation, which began over two weeks ago when Keller was reported missing on Oct. 15.

“We certainly wouldn’t have charged someone with the various charges we have if we weren’t satisfied we had sufficient evidence to prove we have the right person,” Montgomery said.

Curl would need to post 10 percent, or $506,500 bail, of his $5,065,000 bond total for all nine charges, to be released from DeKalb County Jail.

When Donnelly asked Curl if he would be able to post bond, Curl said no. Donnelly said he expects Curl’s public defender to request a lower bond during the status hearing on Monday.

Donnelly said if Curl can post bond he must attend his court dates but can be prosecuted by a judge or jury if not present.

Anyone with information concerning Curl’s presence in Prairie Park between Oct. 14 and 18, including statements he may have made to people as well as his activities, is asked to call 815-748-8407.

NIU President John Peters released a statement Friday night regarding the developments in the Keller case.

“On behalf of the entire NIU community, I want to extend our gratitude and thanks to the DeKalb County Major Case Squad investigators and the U.S. Marshals who took the suspect into custody in Louisiana,” Peters wrote. “I am impressed by the exceptional police investigatory work that has taken place since Toni was reported missing.”