Killer in Ottawa murder-cremation case loses appeal

A man serving 40 years for the Ottawa murder-cremation struck out with an appeals court late last month.

William B. Horman, 54, formerly of Dayton, was convicted in 2016 of murdering Robert Dowd Jr., whose body Horman disposed of in a makeshift burn pile. Dowd had reneged on a promised business partnership in a rural Ottawa truck wash, according to court testimony, and witnesses heard Horman utter homicidal threats against his would-be business partner.

On appeal, Horman alleged he was inadequately represented at trial and that Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. didn’t properly consider the claims of ineffective counsel. The Third District Appellate Court upheld Horman’s conviction but sent the case back to Ryan for fresh hearing on whether Horman had been properly represented. In 2019, Ryan threw out Horman’s claims of ineffective counsel.

Horman didn’t give up. He filed a second appeal, alleging that Ryan didn’t give him a fair shake in 2019. This time, Horman isn’t going back to La Salle County Circuit Court for another hearing.

“We find that [Ryan] conducted an adequate inquiry and that [Horman] failed to show possible neglect of the case,” Justice Daniel Schmidt wrote, joined by Justices William Holdridge and Mary K. O’Brien.

Barring another appeal, or a trip to the Illinois Supreme Court, Horman won’t be released until 2052, when he would be 85 years old.