McHenry man serving 49 years for killing girlfriend and entombing her remains seeks to overturn conviction

A former McHenry man convicted in 2016 of fatally shooting his girlfriend and entombing her remains in his home before fleeing to Las Vegas is now seeking to have the conviction thrown out, claiming the jury did not hear all the evidence.

Attorneys for William Ross, 72, who is serving a 49-year prison term in Dixon, assert that he had ineffective lawyers at his trial, that an expert entomologist was never hired, and that the jury did not hear evidence pointing to others who could have killed 49-year-old Jacqueline Schaefer.

The attorneys are hoping the judge will rule in Ross’ favor on Dec. 21, advancing his post-conviction petition and granting him an evidentiary hearing.

Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito argued against that.

She said Ross’ claims are nothing more than a “fishing expedition.”

Schaefer’s remains were found on Nov. 6, 2013, at Ross’ house inside a bedroom whose door had been sealed with nails, screws, caulk, paint and wood trim, according to trial testimony.

Ross had left for Las Vegas more than a year before, according to trial testimony.

When he left town, he told a friend to watch the house but to never go in. The friend testified during the trial that she did not go in until January 2013 when she saw that a water pipe had broke. She said she went into clean up the house several times during that year.

The woman eventually broke through the seal on the bedroom door to find Schaefer’s bug-infested, skeletal remains, according to trial testimony.

Ross, who appeared on camera from prison during Wednesday’s hearing, was arrested in Las Vegas and transported back to McHenry County shortly after the discovery.

His attorney, Douglas Johnson, said that exactly when Schaefer died has never been proven, and that other people had been in and out of Ross’ house while he was away.

Johnson said “drug users and unsavory characters” were staying in the house, and any one of them could have been responsible for Schaefer’s death. He said the jury never heard such details.

Johnson also asserted that the woman who found the body “quite suspiciously” did not like Schaefer and those “facts were not properly highlighted” for the jury.

He argued that Ross’ attorney erred in not hiring an entomologist, an insect expert, who could have determined the exact time of Schaefer’s death and that this would have proved Ross’ innocence.

Claiming Ross left town June 12, 2012, Johnson said in the petition, “It appears undisputed that if [Ross] could have shown that the victim was killed after June 12, 2012, [Ross] had an un-attackable alibi. He had left Illinois by that time and could not have committed the crime.”

Johnson also claims that the jury never heard “crucial information” that Ross’s former lawyers had at the time of trial.

Jurors did not hear that another friend said he walked through the “entire first floor” of the home at various times after June 12, 2012, and before Nov. 6, 2013. He said he never saw the body and that the room where she was found was not sealed, according to the petition.

The petition also points to information Johnson asserts leads to another man as Schaefer’s potential killer. She had been in a relationship six years prior to her death with a man from Missouri who allegedly had been physically abusive to her, according to the petition.

Johnson said there are police reports from Springfield, Missouri, in which Schaefer reported she feared for her life because she told police that this man was “running a meth lab.” She allegedly also said that the man stalked her, had stolen her vehicle and wanted to kill her for the insurance money, according to the petition.

Ross had “a right” to present these allegations against the Missouri man to the jury, Johnson said.

Ross was accused by prosecutors during trial of being a liar, his character was attacked and he was called a “drunken fool,” Johnson said.

“He was not a drunken fool,” Johnson said. “He did not lie when he said she had enemies.”

Romito fired back saying, “There is no smoking gun here.”

Ross’ trial counsel knew of all these statements, and they were not considered evidence and were not admissible, Romito said, adding there are lots of details in reports and memos that she would like to get into trials as evidence but are not allowed.

Schaefer, Romito said, had not been seen for months prior to Ross leaving for Las Vegas, and it was his DNA on the duct tape, nails, screws, gloves and caulking used to board up the room where her remains were found.

Romito also noted that Ross bought large numbers of air fresheners and that the appellate court said Ross’ behavior was “highly unusual.”

This case is “overwhelmingly ... not worthy” of an evidentiary hearing, Romito said.