No Trial in Toni Keller Murder: Killer Cops a Plea for 37-Year Sentence

Updated at 7:18 a.m. April 3

The man accused of murdering a Plainfield teenager and attempting to conceal the crime by burning her remains agreed Tuesday to plead guilty in exchange for a 37-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

William Curl, 36, is accused in the sexual assault and murder of 18-year-old Northern Illinois University freshman Toni Keller. The teen disappeared in October 2010 after going for a walk in a DeKalb park. Her charred remains were found two days later.

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Thelma Holderness, founder of the Keller family support Facebook group Summoning of Yellow, said Toni’s parents, Roger and Diane Keller, confirmed Monday that a plea deal was in the works. Holderness said DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s office officials asked Toni’s dad to meet with them Monday so they could deliver the news.

“[Curl will] be out when he’s about 70,” said Holderness.

Under the deal, Curl will plead guilty to Keller's murder and would serve 100 percent of a 37-year sentence with no credit for good behavior, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the office of newly elected DeKalb County State's Attorney's Robert Schmack.

"This office believes it to be the longest sentence imposed at 100 percent on a negotiated plea to a non-death penalty eligible murder in DeKalb County, since at least 1980," the release said. "Based upon the representations of Curl’s attorneys, the plea is expected to take place at a previously scheduled court appearance Wednesday morning, April 3. The Keller family has been advised of the anticipated sentence and the time of the plea."

According to the Kane County Chronicle, Curl's sister said her brother accepted an Alford plea, which allows him to maintain his innocence while acknowleging that the state could likely prove its case against him. 

Curl, whose trial was scheduled to begin April 11, was 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.

Holderness said Roger and Diane Keller did not want to talk to the media on Monday, but were stunned to learn they will not get to see their daughter’s alleged killer answer for the crimes in court.

“They’re just so shocked and dismayed,” Holderness said the Kellers. “They’re distraught.”

For the parents who have waited more than two years to see justice for their daughter, the reported deal is another heartbreak, Holderness said.

Holderness reposted Diane Keller’s reaction to the news on the Summoning of Yellow Facebook page:

ok, so, there is a plea agreement for a lighter sentence. so, that is ok after a man beats, rapes, murders and burns my baby toni in a firepit and he doesn't get life? this is dekalb illinois? so, he can finally [plead] guilty after putting the family through absolute the worst hell, we are all at our lowest point, including toni's two grandmas who are 73 and 84 yrs old. and then a murderer decides to plead guilty for a lighter sentence? the system is so so wrong. just for the record, we, the Keller family, want to go to trial, to prosecute a murderer who threw my baby in a firepit and burned every freckle on her face, every beautiful piece of her. i blame the city of dekalb for the easy way out to save money, time, and [their] reputations. dear dekalb, get rid of the states attorney, when u know u got someone that is good for your city, it is usually the one that is going after corruption. as in clay campbell, so wrong to let him go, all kids at NIU, do not go in the park district property! i am fully aware of other criminals in there. please stay safe. …

Toni’s mom went on to make a plea to Stuckert to impose a harsher sentence on Curl than the reported 32 years:

please change your reputation and give him the maximum sentence. my family is so tired of suffering. my baby girl is gone, toni baked blueberry pie from blueberries she picked herself and her and her friend ate it with a fork right out of the pie tin. she built a house for a needy family for habitat for humanity. i am ashamed to be in the state of illinois. they [knew] he was guilty and evidence showed a strong case. instead, a criminal gets the option of a lighter sentence for a guilty plea. so he gets off after 32 yrs, and roger and i and rj and nana and grandma keller and all of the Keller family gets a life sentence …

Read more about Toni Keller:

• Judge Denies Motion to Delay Toni Keller Murder Trial
  
• Toni Keller Murder Trial Delayed Again
• Judge: Defendant Will Face First-Degree Murder Charges in Death of Toni Keller
• Toni Keller Trial: New Start Date Falls on Slain Student's 21st Birthday
• Accused Killer Seeks to Have Murder Charges Dismissed in Toni Keller Case