Joliet news: Girlfriend of Will Co. murder spree suspect released on monitoring for obstruction

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- The girlfriend of a Joliet area murder suspect looked distraught and emotional as she appeared in court Thursday morning.

Joliet police said 21-year-old Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton made statements in an attempt to stop police from arresting her boyfriend, Romeo Nance, before he was found dead in Texas.

Cleveland-Singleton was taken to the Will County Jail, as she's charged with obstructing justice.

She is also the mother of Nance's 3-year-old child.

Police said they first made contact with Cleveland-Singleton when they were looking for his son Monday in the aftermath of the shootings. During the investigation, detectives were told the child may be with his mother and grandmother at a home in Plainfield. Police went to that home where they found the child as well as Cleveland-Singleton.

While she voluntarily went with police for questioning about the shooting spree, detectives believe she made statements to prevent them from apprehending Nance and to obstruct the investigation.

A Will County judge said Thursday the SAFE-T act forced the court to release her from custody, since she is charged with a nonviolent offense. Prosecutors said she does not fall into the legal scope for them to have asked for her to be detained.

Police said Cleveland-Singleton lied to them on Monday by saying she didn't have Nance's phone number.

She faces one to six year in prison if convicted.

She was ordered to remain on electronic monitoring, as she stays with her mother until her next court appearance Feb. 8.

Nance allegedly went on a deadly shooting spree in the Joliet area on Sunday, shooting nine people, eight fatally. Nance took his own life during a confrontation with Texas police Monday night, authorities said.

Joliet police said two of the shootings, one on Davis Street and one on Pheasant Run Lane, "appear to be more random in nature" than the other two shootings, in which Nance targeted multiple relatives.

Joliet police released more information Wednesday on the eight victims who Nance is accused of killing Sunday in three different locations, including his mother, brother, his three sisters and his aunt and uncle.

• Tameka Nance, 47 years old, was the suspect's mother.

• Christine Esters, 38 years old, was the suspect's aunt.

• William Esters II, 35 years old, was the suspect's uncle.

• Joshua Nance, 31 years old, was the suspect's brother.

• Alexandria Nance, 20 years old, was the suspect's sister.

• Two teen girls, 16 and 14, who their school identified as Alonnah and Alexandria, were also sisters of the suspect.

The incident has shaken the Joliet community, as a memorial is now growing near one of the crime scenes on West Acres Road, honoring the victims.

Jordan Kielian had been representing Romeo Nance in an alleged road rage shooting last year that was awaiting trial.

"This is completely shocking. I didn't see this coming. And even when I heard the news that there was some sort of incident on West Acres, I started contacting the family, because I knew the family lived there. I contacted Romeo, thinking he might be in danger," Kielian said. "It was a good family. From what I understood, a tight-knit family that supported each other, so it's just incredibly tragic."

Nance is believed to have a criminal history; though, police did not offer any further details. Police said on Tuesday that in cases like this, they may never know the motive behind the crimes.

Joliet police asked anyone with information about the crimes to contact them.