Admitted Killer Should Get More Time to Withdraw Guilty Plea, Lawyer Says

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Eighteen-year-old Keller, a freshman art student at Northern Illinois University, went missing in October 2010. Her charred remains were found two days later in a DeKalb park.

In April, William "Billy" Curl, 36, traded a guilty plea for a 37-year sentence. On July 22, he filed a motion to withdraw the plea, asking Judge Robbin Stuckert to throw out the sentence amid claims that prosecutors threatened his 13-year-old son. Curl also claimed his dyslexia prevented him from fully understanding the finality of his plea, according to the Chronicle. Click here to read the full story.

Dan Transier, who was recently appointed to defend Curl, said his client was placed in isolation at Stateville Correctional Center shortly after being sentenced, and was therefore unable to contact his attorney or gather the materials needed to file his motion by the 30-day deadline.

Curl has since been transferred to Menard Correctional Center. A hearing to determine whether he'll get more time to file his motion is set for Sept. 16.

Curl was originally charged with five counts of first-degree murder, one count of criminal sexual assault, one count of arson and one count of concealing a homicidal death.

Related: 

• Admitted Murderer Too Late to Take Back Guilty Plea
• No Trial in Toni Keller Murder: Killer Cops a Plea
• 'This Could Be Anybody Else's Kid Next Time:' Curl Gets 37 Years in Toni Keller Murder