No hearing yet on man’s motion for new trial in Joliet Outlaws’ murder case

A Coal City man convicted last year of killing a woman in the Outlaws’ clubhouse in Joliet Township has not yet been sentenced as he is waiting to see if a judge will approve of his motion for a new trial.

Friday will mark a year since the beginning of about a two-week jury trial for Jeremy Boshears, 37. The jury found Boshears guilty of the Nov. 13, 2017, murder of Katie Kearns, 24, and concealing her death. Boshears, who cheated on his wife with Kearns, claimed during the trial that Kearns shot herself during a heated dispute at the clubhouse.

Since the jury’s guilty verdict, Boshears has not been sentenced in the case. His attorney, Chuck Bretz, said he plans to file an amended motion for a new trial. Bretz already had filed such a motion several weeks after the jury’s May 2, 2022, verdict. Since then, Boshears has been allowed to receive and review discovery in the case.

“Things are proceeding, and I would expect that the motion for new trial will be heard some time later this year,” Bretz said.

Bretz said Boshears’ sentencing will not take place until the issues regarding a new trial are addressed.

The next status hearing on post-trial motions in Boshears’ case is scheduled for May 11, according to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Boshears was charged with Kearns’ murder Nov. 20, 2017, following a Will County Sheriff’s Office investigation into her disappearance. She was last seen at Woody’s bar, which is close to the Joliet Outlaws’ clubhouse.

Kearns was later found in her Jeep in a Kankakee County pole barn with a gunshot wound to her head.

During the trial, prosecutors presented circumstantial evidence they said showed Boshears was Kearns’ killer. The evidence included testimony from former Outlaw prospect Colby O’Neal, along with the couple Ron and Georgia Keagle, which implicated Boshears in the cover-up of Kearns’ death. Forensic and cellphone evidence also was used by prosecutors to tie Boshears to Kearns’ death.

Boshears testified on his own behalf and claimed Kearns shot herself. Prosecutors presented no eyewitnesses to Kearns’ death.

Boshears admitted to driving Kearns’ body to Kankakee County. He further admitted to lying to police and Kearns’ family about her death and claimed he reluctantly participated in the cover-up under orders from the Outlaws.

As part of Boshears’ defense, Kearns’ private medical records detailing her drug abuse and mental health issues were used to bolster his claim that she shot herself.

Bretz presented a defense expert who testified that his analysis of the incident showed Kearns shot herself.

In closing arguments, Bretz said the sheriff’s office investigation of Kearns’ death was flawed, incomplete and had “gaping holes.” He said none of the forensic evidence could link Boshears to the crime.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Platek said Boshears’ actions in the wake of Kearns’ death were not of someone who saw a suicide but who committed murder.