An ex-convict suspected of bludgeoning eight people to death last month was charged with murder in a second state Thursday.
Nicholas Sheley, 28, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of an Arkansas couple at a Missouri hotel. He was already charged in two killings in Illinois.
Jefferson County prosecutor Forrest Wegge, who announced the charges in the deaths of Tom and Jill Estes, said no decision has been made on whether to pursue the death penalty.
The couple from Sherwood, Ark., were found dead June 30 in Festus. They were killed around midnight in a hotel parking lot, said Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis. Both died of blunt-force head injuries.
Police believe their bodies were put in the back of a pickup truck that belonged to one of the Illinois victims. Blood dripping from the truck led investigators to a service station 1 1/2 miles away, where the Estes' bodies were found.
Authorities believe all eight of Sheley's victims were beaten to death. They have not disclosed a murder weapon or said whether different weapons were used in the several-day killing spree.
Sheley is also charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Russell Reed, of Sterling, and Galesburg resident Ronald A. Randall, 65, whose body was found behind a food store June 30.
He has not been charged in the deaths of four people in a Rock Falls, Ill., apartment, but police say evidence links him to each crime.
An intensive manhunt ended July 1 when Sheley was captured outside a bar in Granite City, Ill., near St. Louis.
Sheley's criminal record includes convictions for drugs, domestic battery, robbery and weapons charges.
