Girlfriend of suspect in fatal shootings of 8 in Chicago suburb charged with obstruction, police say

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — The girlfriend of a man suspected of fatally shooting seven relatives and an eighth person last weekend in a Chicago suburb has been charged with obstruction for allegedly trying to prevent her boyfriend’s apprehension, police said.

Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, 21, of Joliet appeared Thursday morning in a Will County courtroom where she was ordered to be placed on home confinement with electronic monitoring.

She was being represented by a public defender. The Associated Press left a phone message Thursday seeking comment from the public defender’s office.

Singleton’s next court appearance has been scheduled for Feb. 8.

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Cleveland-Singleton was charged after the Will County State’s Attorney Office reviewed information provided by detectives who interviewed her Monday, Joliet police said.

Joliet police said Cleveland-Singleton agreed to be questioned by police Monday after she was identified as the girlfriend and mother of the 3-year-old son of shooting suspect Romeo Nance, 23, who fatally shot himself Monday during a confrontation with law enforcement in Texas.

After police questioned Cleveland-Singleton, “detectives believed that she made statements in order to prevent the apprehension of the suspect and obstruct this investigation,” Joliet police said in a news release posted on Facebook. The news release did not include what statements she allegedly made.

Officers found Cleveland-Singleton at a home in Plainfield, about 14 miles (23 kilometers) northwest of Joliet, after detectives learned Nance’s young son might be with his mother and grandmother at a home there, police said.

The eight people who police said Nance fatally shot over the weekend were found Sunday and Monday, according to authorities. No motive has yet been provided.

Seven of the victims were found Sunday in two homes in Joliet and were identified as Nance’s mother, Tamaeka Nance, 47; his brother Joshua Nance, 31; sister Alexandria Nance, 20; two younger sisters, ages 16 and 14; aunt Christine Esters, 38; and uncle William Esters II, 35.

Another man, 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare, was fatally shot outside an apartment building. Police said Nance is believed to have randomly fired at him and also another man, who was wounded in the leg on a residential street, after killing his family members.

Nance fatally shot himself Monday evening after U.S. Marshals located him near Natalia, Texas, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and more than 1,000 miles (1,690 kilometers) from Joliet, police said.

Sheriff Randy Brown of Medina County, Texas, said he believes Nance was trying to reach Mexico, which is about 120 miles (200 kilometers) south of Natalia along Interstate 35.