An appeals court has upheld the 2016 murder conviction of a McHenry County man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend then left her body to rot in a sealed-off bedroom inside his home, where he remained living for several months before fleeing to Las Vegas.
William Ross, 65, argued that he did not receive a fair trial after being charged in the death of Jacqueline Schaefer, 49. After he was convicted by a jury, Ross was sentenced to 49 years in prison.
In his argument to the 2nd District Appellate Court of Illinois, Ross claimed that he did not knowingly and intelligently waive his Miranda rights. But the court agreed with an earlier pretrial ruling that said Ross’ behavior while being interviewed by police was a “feigned attempt to display a lack of understanding.” The appeals court also said “there was no evidence that defendant had limited intellectual capacity or any illness that would affect his ability to understand his rights or intelligently waive them.”
Ross also asserted that the court erred in admitting evidence that he had physically abused Schaefer during their relationship. The higher court affirmed that there was enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to convict Ross.
During the trial prosecutors argued that Ross shot Schaefer in the head then stuffed her remains into garbage bags. Then, using nails, caulk, paint, screws and wood trim, he entombed her inside a sealed bedroom at his home on Country Club Drive along the Fox River in the city of McHenry. Authorities said he lived in the home for months before fleeing to Las Vegas. Her decaying remains were found by a friend in 2013 more than a year after Ross fled.
Ross claimed not to know what happened to his ex-girlfriend and pointed fingers at others, including her own family members and a biker gang.
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
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