Published: August 06, 2008 10:25 pm         

Westfield woman faces three counts of first-degree murder

Suspect placed newborn in water and ‘drowned him,’ prosecutor says

MARSHALL, Ill. — On a peaceful gravel road situated between long stretches of rolling farmland in eastern Illinois, the remains of a charred home give up no clues as to the reason for the destruction there several weeks ago, nor the reason that a dead, newborn baby boy was found buried in the woods behind the house a few days later.

Neighbors, who asked not to be named, said Wednesday they had seen the fire burning the night of July 9 and became concerned that the man living in the house, Eric Wheeler, may have been home.

But no one was home, including Cayla Wheeler, Eric Wheeler’s wife. The small wooden house in rural Westfield, Ill., which sits back from the road in a grove of mature trees, was destroyed by the fire.

Also on Wednesday, about 17 miles from the burned house, Cayla Wheeler walked expressionless into the Clark County Courthouse in Marshall, Ill., wearing a standard issue gray-and-white striped jail uniform.

She ignored questions from several television and print reporters and looked straight ahead as she entered the courthouse.

Wheeler, 23, appeared in court for the first time since her arrest July 23 for the death of her newborn son and for allegedly starting the fire that destroyed her home. She was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. Wheeler, through public defender Kaye DeSelms, waived the preliminary hearing and arraignment, and entered a plea of not guilty.

Police learned from neighbors after the fire that Wheeler had been expecting a baby, but Wheeler was no longer pregnant and the infant could not be found inside the burned house. Cadaver dogs found the baby’s corpse three days after the fire in the woods near the home.

According to Special Prosecutor Ed Parkinson, shortly after Wheeler gave birth to a full-term baby boy July 2, she allegedly “placed him in water and drowned him.” A week later, Wheeler allegedly hid the corpse by burying it in the woods. It is alleged that Wheeler then set fire to her home, and claimed that the fire took the life of the infant, according to Parkinson.

The house sits at the corner of county roads 100 North and 50 East.

The three counts of murder Wheeler faces represent “alternative mental states,” according to Parkinson. Wheeler would be convicted of first-degree murder if the jury found her guilty of any of the three counts. Count 1 alleges that she intended to kill the baby; Count 2 alleges she knowingly killed the baby; and Count 3 alleges she committed acts under circumstances she knew would create a strong likelihood of death.

Eric Wheeler, the father of the baby, is not a suspect in the case, according to police.

Judge Tracy Resch of Clark County Circuit Court set a jury trial for Nov. 12. Wheeler is expected back in court Sept. 10 for a pre-trial hearing.

Cayla Wheeler remained in the Clark County jail late Wednesday with bail set at $300,000.

Deb Kelly can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or deb.kelly@tribstar.com.