GUILTY IL - Antinette 'Toni' Keller, 18, DeKalb, NIU Student, 14 October 2010

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?id=9051373

Hope this the right place to post this information.

April 3, 2013 ~ Article recaps bits about the case and explains the sentencing.

The plea deal came two and a half years after the charred remains of Antinette Keller were found in a park nearby NIU University. She was 18 years old.

William Curl pleads guilty . An Alford plea means essentially that he doesn't have to admit guilt but Curl will serve all 37 years of his sentence under the plea agreement.

His sister yelled from the back of the courtroom, "Don't take it, Billy! They're railroading you," referring to the plea deal.

Curl will be 71 years old when his sentence is complete.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/..._plea-deal-william-curl-antinette-toni-keller

Here's what the Chicago Tribune reported.

Diane Keller (mom) posted this message,
"My family is so tired of suffering. My baby girl is gone."


To those who love Toni, I'm so very sorry for your loss and suffering.

The media thread belonging to this case is over in the awaiting trial section threads. I posted a couple of links about the Alford Plea there before realizing it was the media links thread. It confused me because I thought I already knew the outcome of the case (prior to appeals) but no updated info had been posted on the media thread.

How can the Media links thread be joined/combined here?

Every so often, I look for more information re: Curl's appeal, but I haven't seen anything lately. I don't know if any of the moderators are still watching this thread and can help with Woe.be.gone's question about linking the media thread and this one, or if anyone is aware of the appeal status?

I'm not sure if "closed threads" like http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...udent-14-October-2010&p=11330748#post11330748 can be re-opened, but if it can, there's new information about the appeal of the killer, William Curl, now being allowed to go forward. It's such a shame that the family of the victim, Antinette "Toni" Keller, has to keep being dragged through the process. My son was a student at Northern Illinois University when this murder happened, and thankfully there haven't been any further incidents like it, which to me is a clear indication that they got the right guy behind bars so he hasn't been able to harm anyone else. I pray they don't let him out...

http://www.theherald-news.com/2015/...in-murder-of-plainfield-woman-at-niu/ant0gmx/

I keep the Case Archive updated when there is news. Yesterday I uploaded the entire hand-written appeal.

William Curl will be allowed one more chance to try and wiggle out of what he did.

Here's a comprehensive article:
http://www.theherald-news.com/2015/...er-of-plainfield-woman-at-niu/ant0gmx/?page=1

Curl has exhausted his other appeal options, including a belated attempt to withdraw his guilty plea. In May, Curl filed a 14-page, handwritten petition for post-conviction relief, a common practice for those serving long prison sentences who have exhausted other appeals.
In a court order Tuesday, Stuckert said Curl "has presented the gist of a constitutional claim" and "the petition shall advance to the second stage" of three-stage post-conviction relief process.
Curl claims in the petition that he only agreed to plead guilty because his court-appointed attorney, DeKalb County Public Defender Tom McCulloch, made several errors and DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack threatened to prosecute his son, who was 13 at the time, in connection with Keller's murder.
Phone messages left Tuesday for McCulloch and Schmack weren't returned.
In his petition, Curl claims other suspects in the case – including the victim's boyfriend and another man who was camping in Prairie Park – were overlooked and that McCulloch pressured him to take a plea because the public defender was anxious about media coverage of the trial.
Curl also claims he wasn't allowed to take medication, which affected his ability to intelligently enter into the plea deal. A clinical psychologist said Curl had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and he should be evaluated for psychotropic medication to "decrease the hallucinations," according to excerpts from a report attached to Curl's petition.

Antinette "Toni" Keller Case Archive includes everything published about the case that I could find.

Here's the link, go check it out:
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/library/Antinette Toni Keller -IL-?sort=6&page=1

Is there a moderator who might be able to answer the query about whether the old thread that I listed earlier can be re-opened, in light of the new information?

Here is the most recent thread for Toni's case. I will ask a mod to merge.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-Keller-18-DeKalb-NIU-Student-14-October-2010

niuparent said:

Is there a moderator who might be able to answer the query about whether the old thread that I listed earlier can be re-opened, in light of the new information?

Click to expand...

In the future if you need a moderators attention hit the alert triangle in the lower left corner of a post. By doing do you can make sure they are aware of your question as tney don't always see all the posts. hth

Curl's appeal has been continued to Nov 2, 2015.

Curl was not in court, and will also not be in court for the next (status) hearing Dec 14.

His court-appointed attorney, Dan Tansier is gathering evidence for Curls appeal.

William Curl has been granted a hearing to present evidence that he was provided ineffective counsel.

Yes, seriously.

.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...dent-killing-hearing-0502-20170501-story.html

Appeal denied.

http://foxillinois.com/news/local/judge-denies-appeal-for-inmate-in-niu-students-2010-killing

I'm so glad the judge made this decision. It will be 7 years in just a couple weeks, that Toni was so horribly murdered. Her family "maybe" can start to heal now that it looks like the court battles are over.

Curl can mount more court action, but I doubt that will happen. The evidence against him is too overwhelming.

If anyone wants to read the articles, you will find it on the last couple pages of Toni's Case Archive.

Antoinette "Toni" Keller Case Archive:
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/library/Antinette Toni Keller -IL-?sort=6&page=1

...or go to my last uploads page-
http://s296.photobucket.com/user/crankycrankerson/profile/