Suspected serial killer had eluded justice

CHICAGO, July 3 (UPI) -- A man accused of killing eight people in Illinois and Missouri managed to avoid imprisonment on two earlier occasions, court records indicate.

The Chicago Tribune said Thursday prior to being apprehended this week, suspected serial killer Nicholas Sheley had been allowed to go free after facing jail time on two previous occasions.

The Sterling, Ill., man went free in 2006 after a key witness in an armed robbery and home invasion case refused to testify against him.

Sheley defense attorney James Mertes said his client was also released while facing separate home invasion charges in 2007 due to an Illinois law requiring trials within 120 days of being charged.

"If the state had not proposed that he be released on the recognizance bond, then the 120 days would have expired and the case would have had to have been dismissed entirely," Mertes said.

The 28-year-old was arrested Tuesday after a lengthy manhunt. Sheley, who has been accused of killing two men, a woman and a child in his hometown of Rock Falls, Ill. He had also been wanted in connection to two killings in Missouri and an additional two killings in Illinois.