The man charged with the murder of Antinette Keller, William P. Curl, had his first court appearance Saturday morning in the DeKalb County Courthouse.

It was announced during a press conference Oct. 29 that Curl, 34, of DeKalb, was charged with arson, sexual criminal assault and five counts of first-degree murder committed on or about Oct. 14.

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

During the court hearing Saturday, Curl was appointed a public defender who will be present at his status hearing 8:45 a.m. Monday before Judge Robbin Stuckert.

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 Donnelly 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.

James Donnelly, DeKalb County Circuit 16th Judicial District judge, 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.

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

Montgomery said he believes there will not 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 $506,500 bail, 10 percent 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.