Crime & Safety
Admitted Murderer Too Late to Take Back Guilty Plea, Prosecutor Says
William Curl was sentenced to 37 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of Plainfield teen Toni Keller.
Last spring, William Curl pleaded guilty to murdering Plainfield teen Antinette "Toni" Keller, an 18-year-old Northern Illinois University freshman.
Last month, the 36-year-old convicted killer made a move to withdraw his plea, asking on a judge to throw it out while claiming prosecutors had threatened his 13-year-old son.
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But prosecutors claim the legal maneuvering is meaningless, since Curl filed the motion well past the 30-day deadline he had to take back his guilty plea, according to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle.
Curl appeared Tuesday in DeKalb County Circuit court for the first time since filing his motion on July 22. In the document, he claimed prosecutors threatened his teenage son — but didn't elaborate on the nature of the alleged threat — and claimed that his dyslexia and "great difficulty" reading and writing prevented him from understanding the finality of the plea agreement. Click here to read the full Chronicle article
Prosecutor's are asking Judge Robbin Stuckert to dismiss Curl's motion, since it came 108 days after he accepted the plea. Curl is due back in court Sept. 5.
Under the plea deal, Curl must serve 100 percent of a 37-year sentence with no time off for good behavior, although he will get credit for serving more than two years in the DeKalb County Jail.
In the plea, Curl admitted to murdering Keller, who vanished while walking in a DeKalb park in October 2010. The remains of the freshman art student were discovered two days later.
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.
The convicted killer is currently serving time at the Menard Correctional Facility, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Related:
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