2021 saw a sharp increase in crime- and gun-related deaths in the Sauk Valley

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This year was marred by more homicides and gun-related deaths than is typical: Sometimes one, or maybe two a year is the norm for the Sauk Valley region, while 2021 saw the deaths of four adults and, in Ogle County, two children.

Mom charged in 7-year-old’s suffocation

In Oregon, police were called to a home in the 400 block of South 10th Street on Feb. 17, where 7-year-old Nathaniel Burton was found in his bed, unresponsive and not breathing.

An autopsy found the cause of death to be suffocation, and he also suffered a ruptured liver.

His mother, Sarah L. Safranek, 34, was arrested April 21 and charged with five counts of first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child; she was indicted May 4 on those same charges.

Sarah Lyn (Burton) Safranek

She is in Ogle County jail on $2 million bond, and faces 20 to 60 years if convicted of murder and 6 to 30 years for battery.

Her next pretrial hearing is Jan. 26.

The Department of Children and Family Services visited the Safranek/Burton household almost a dozen times over the course of two years, following up on five separate reports of suspected abuse and neglect. Each time DCFS closed the case after finding no indications of parental wrongdoing, according to DCFS records obtained by Sauk Valley Media in a Freedom of Information Act request for a timeline of the department’s interaction with the family.

Nathaniel was 4 when the allegations first surfaced.

One man killed in Sterling

Michael W.T. Bennett, 35, of Sterling, is in Whiteside County jail on $2 million bond, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the May 1 death of Joshua N. Hamrick, 39, who was shot and killed in his back yard at 901 W. 19th St. in Sterling.

An argument broke out between the two men, who knew each other, police said. No motive was released.

Michael W. Bennett

Bennett fled, and was arrested five weeks later, on June 8, in a hotel near Centennial, Colorado, a Denver suburb and an area police said he was known to frequent.

Bennett, who has a felony history in Whiteside County dating back to 2004 that includes aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, possession of a controlled substance; and possession of 30 to 500 grams of marijuana; was on probation at the time for a March 2020 aggravated battery conviction, while Hamrick was facing heroin distribution charges in Oregon state.

Bennett’s next pretrial hearing is Jan. 20.

Unsolved homicides

No arrests have been made in two fatal shootings in Rock Falls, both on Aug. 4.

Arthur D. Nicewanner, 56, was killed about 5 a.m. in the home he rented at 214 E. Sixth St., and the 37-year-old woman he lived with was seriously injured but released from the hospital the next day. She is the only witness to that crime, and has not been named for safety reasons, Chief Dave Pilgrim said.

Later that night, Joshua D. Gibbons, 28, was shot in his apartment at 210 Third Ave. He died about 4:15 p.m. the next day at a Rockford hospital.

Both men had criminal histories, but police still cannot say if the shootings were related, or if their past crimes played into their deaths, Pilgrim said Thursday.

Nicewanner was a registered sexual predator, while Gibbons had a history of felony drug and weapons convictions, with both men’s crimes committed in Whiteside County.

Anyone with information on either shooting is asked to call Rock Falls Police at 815-622-1140 or Whiteside County Crime Stoppers at 815-625-7867. A reward of up to $5,000 is available if that information leads to an arrest and conviction.

(Meanwhile, in another recent and unsolved area homicide, the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department still is looking for whoever shot and killed Jason A. Chapman, 43, in the yard at his Como home late July 4 or early July 5, 2020. A $5,000 Crime Stoppers reward and a $10,000 reward from his family are being offered for information in that case.)

Polo toddler dies

On Sept. 9, a 23-month old Polo boy got ahold of a gun and fatally shot himself, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said.

Few details have been released, including how the boy obtained the gun and what, if any, charges may be levied.

State’s Attorney Mike Rock said recently that he still needs to go over the sheriff’s office findings with investigators; he was out of the office Thursday and unavailable to comment on where he is in that process.

Depending on the circumstances, a person who stores or leaves a firearm where a child younger than 14 might access it, and the child then causes “death or great bodily harm” with that firearm, could be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000.

The Department of Children and Family Services also is investigating the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death.

Apparent self-defense

It has been 2 months, and no charges have been filed in the Oct. 26 fatal shooting of a man who killed his girlfriend’s ex in what may have been self-defense.

DeAndre D. Abner, 29, shot Alfred G. Lee, 48, around 7:40 a.m. in a home in the 900 block of West Fourth Street he shares with his girlfriend, Sterling police said.

Lee, who was shot once, died at the scene.

He was on parole at the time of his death. He had a history of violent felonies involving guns, drugs and battery, according to Illinois Department of Corrections and Whiteside County Court records.

State’s Attorney Terry Costello did not respond Thursday to a request for an update on the investigation.

Kathleen Schultz

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.