JOLIET, IL — Kyleigh Cleveland, the 21-year-old woman who was inside one of the homes on West Acres Road while her boyfriend killed his family members, according to sources, appeared at Will County’s Courthouse on Thursday morning to enter formal not guilty pleas to her charges of obstruction of justice.
Cleveland appeared in front of Will County Judge Dave Carlson, who is a strong advocate of news media cameras in the courtroom. The judge allowed the press to photograph Cleveland’s brief appearance in Courtroom 405. She will remain under strict home confinement after being indicted by a Will County grand jury on three counts of obstruction of justice.
The mass murders of eight people in Joliet were carried out on Jan. 21 by her 23-year-old boyfriend, Romeo Nance, according to Joliet police.
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Not only did Cleveland attend at least two of the murders, according to sources, but Will County prosecutors say Cleveland withheld information about Nance’s whereabouts, and she lied to the Joliet police detectives as they were trying to find Nance after he fled Joliet.
Nance died in Texas, two hours from the Mexico border, after Texas police hunted him down to a gas station. Nance ran from his car and fatally shot himself, authorities have said.
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Last Saturday, back in Joliet, funeral services were held for Nance’s seven family members, who lived at the family’s two homes in the 2200 block of West Acres Road.
On Thursday morning, Judge Carlson entered the not-guilty pleas for Cleveland, and he assigned her obstruction of justice case to fellow Will County Judge Sarah Jones in Courtroom 501.
Cleveland will have her next appearance on March 7. She is being represented by the Will County Public Defender’s Office.
Earlier this week, Joliet Police indicated that their investigation into the Jan. 21 deadly mass shootings remains ongoing. Police have not revealed the motive in the deaths of Nance’s family members. He killed his mother, his brother, his uncle, an aunt and three sisters, authorities have said.
After killing them that Sunday afternoon, Nance committed two more shootings, including one in Preston Heights that took the life of a 28-year-old man who came to Joliet three years ago from Nigeria, according to Will County Sheriff’s officials.
The other victim, a man in his 40s, was shot in the leg on Davis Street in the city of Joliet, and he survived the incident. The last two victims appeared to be random targets, authorities have said.
While on pre-trial release, Cleveland is not allowed to leave her home on Joliet Street in Plainfield under any circumstances, unless it’s for medical reasons or for court, according to restrictions previously imposed on her by Judge Carlson.
Related Patch coverage:
Home Confinement, No More Jail Time For Romeo Nance’s Girlfriend
Romeo Nance’s Girlfriend Now Faces Even More Charges
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