Two witnesses saw Sheridan double-homicide

Two bodies were found burned from a residential fire in Sheridan, but prosecutors disclosed Friday that both were shot. Two eyewitnesses told police it was Ronald Martin Jr. who pulled the trigger.

Martin, 45, of rural Sheridan is charged with first-degree murder. He was picked up on Thursday after a daylong manhunt set off when the bodies of Sidney Schiltz and Melissa Vissman were discovered at a home in the 2400 block of N. 42nd Road, Sheridan.

In new filings at La Salle County Circuit Court, Martin was identified as the triggerman. A man who was visiting Schiltz told investigators he saw Martin enter and, following a discussion or argument, point a 9mm pistol at Schiltz’s head and fire.

A second witness, a woman, told police Martin confronted Vissman and, in plain view, produced a gun and shot her. Martin pistol-whipped the eyewitness, according to court records. The eyewitness required medical treatment.

Martin made his first appearance Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court – he entered heavily manacled – and applied for the services of the public defender. Judge Michelle A. Vescogni approved the request and Assistant Public Defender Doug Kramarsic appeared on Martin’s behalf.

La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro then read aloud the criminal information filed in connection with the Schiltz and Vissman killings. Though Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011, Navaro said killing two or more people is punishable by automatic natural life.

And while Martin is not at this time charged with arson, Navarro said it is believed Martin set fire to the residence to cover up the killings.

Under the SAFE-T Act, all suspects have a presumption of pre-trial release. Prosecutors were prepared to argue for detention, but Kramarsic advised the judge that he and Martin agreed to seek additional time to argue for pre-trial release.

That hearing is set for Friday, Aug. 1. To date, no murder suspect has been granted pre-trial release in La Salle County since the implementation of the SAFE-T Act.

Details still are emerging, but prosecutors disclosed that the eyewitnesses provided a detailed account of the fatal shootings, right down to the description of the gun. The witness to Schiltz’s shooting told police Martin pulled out “a small 9mm pistol, silver in color with a brown handle.”

At a news conference held immediately following Martin’s first appearance, Navarro said investigators believe they have a motive. Drugs were exchanged in the residence where the bodies were found and there may have been a dispute over contraband and cash.

How and when Martin was detained have yet to be fully disclosed, but prosecutors did say a red, blood-like substance was found inside the vehicle in which Martin was found riding. Martin, Navarro said, did not cooperate when questioned about the shootings.

The manhunt was launched around 1 a.m. Thursday, when first responders were summoned to the fire and found the bodies.

Police appear to have quickly collected the witness statements because scanner traffic soon revealed that Martin had been developed as a person of interest. Illinois State Police and agents of the U.S. Marshals Service were brought in to assist in the manhunt.

Martin was apprehended on Thursday evening. A second subject was detained and his being held in La Salle County Jail under an “investigative hold.” That subject was released, however, and Ronald W. Martin Jr. is at this time the only person charged in connection with the double shooting.

This is the third double homicide in the Sheridan area in just over 20 years.

In 2004, James Larrison and Mary Comer were found shot to death at the scene of a fire near where the Schiltz-Vissman shootings occurred. That case remains unsolved. Despite the factual similarities, Navarro said he is unaware of any connection between the 2004 cold case and the current case.

Four years ago, Brenda and Greg Barnes were shot to death in their rural Sheridan home. Their former son-in-law, Donald Fredres, was convicted of their murders and is serving a life sentence.