Jurors in a Danville murder trial heard some gruesome details in opening statements Tuesday (July 20, 2021) about how a local woman was allegedly murdered. Assistant Illinois Attorney General Jonathan McKay said a cellmate of Ocheil Keys told investigators that Keys admitted shooting 50-year-old Barbara Rose in the face. McKay added the cellmate told authorities that Keys then said he took Rose’s body to a location off Elmwood Avenue, dumped gas on it, and then set it on fire.
The prosecution says that – according to the cellmate – Keys went back to the site and burned the remains again and dismembered it. At the time of her death in October of 2017, two of Rose’s sons testified Tuesday that Keys and the victim had been living together as boyfriend and girlfriend.
One of Rose’s sons…Trai Rose told the jury that after his mother was reported missing the defendant never helped search for her. Trai Rose said Keys told him that the last time he saw Rose was when she left with a friend to travel to Peru, Indiana to buy a car.
Although the prosecution contended that there is overwhelming evidence to convict Keys…defense attorney Sandra Lawlyes disagreed. She urged jurors to pay close attention to the evidence. ‘’The State is going to bombard you with physical evidence,’’ she added. Lawlyes also claimed the cellmate who made statements about Keys is ‘’a professional snitch.’’ And Lawlyes said the story the cellmate gave authorities got him out of jail on recognizance bond. Then, added Lawlyes, the cellmate got 3 years in prison on a case in which he was looking at 30 years. Lawlyes said what happened to Barbara Rose ‘’was horrific’’. But she added if jurors carefully pay attention to the evidence, she believes they will find Keys is not guilty.
The trial is continuing in Vermilion County Circuit Court. The case is being prosecuted by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
