Published: July 23, 2008 10:39 pm         

Clark County arson suspect jailed

MARSHALL, ILL. — Police have arrested a Clark County, Ill., woman in connection with a suspicious house fire that occurred earlier this month in the town of Westfield.

Illinois State Police and the Clark County Sheriff’s Department arrested Cayla Wheeler, 23, of Westfield on Tuesday, according to a media statement issued by State Police.

Wheeler is accused of arson, a class-2 felony, according to court documents provided by the Clark County Circuit Clerk’s office. According to the court papers, Wheeler is accused of setting fire to a home at 3496 E. 2300th Rd. in Westfield, which is in northwestern Clark County.

After the fire, police said they had learned the residents of the Westfield home where the fire took place had been expecting a baby; however, they found the mother of the baby was no longer pregnant and they could find no baby.

Investigators used cadaver dogs and three days after the fire found a dead baby boy in a wooded area near the Wheeler home. Vigo County Coroner Dr. Roland Kohr did an autopsy on the baby July 14, but could release no further information Wednesday pending the police investigation, he said.

The case remains active, according to the Illinois State Police.

Wheeler was being held Wednesday in the Clark County jail in Marshall. Bail was set at $100,000 with 10 percent allowed, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, Clark County State’s Attorney Dennis E. Simonton, citing personal friendships with several members of Wheeler’s family, has requested a special prosecutor be named in the case, according to court documents. In response to Simonton’s request, Clark County Circuit Court Judge Tracy Resch on Wednesday named Ed Parkinson of the Office of the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, to prosecute the case.

Public defender Kaye DeSelms was appointed Tuesday to represent Wheeler, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for 9 a.m. Aug. 6.

Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.