Man Sought For 8 Deaths In Illinois & Mo.

Authorities have issued a murder warrant in one of eight killings that may be connected to a 28-year-old man being sought by authorities in Illinois and Missouri.

Police in Galesburg say they've obtained a warrant for Nicholas Troy Sheley on charges including first-degree murder, aggravated battery and vehicular hijacking in the death of Ronald Randall.

Randall's body was found behind a Galesburg, Ill., grocery store, and an autopsy shows the 65-year-old died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Police say Randall's 2007 pick-up truck was found in St. Louis, and evidence discovered inside points to Sheley's involvement.

On Monday, police found the bodies of two men, a woman and a child in Rock Falls, a town in northwestern Illinois, about 100 miles west of Chicago. Authorities gave few details but said they had found the bodies after being asked to check on the people.

Police said they believe one of the victims is connected to Russell Reed, a 93-year-old man from nearby Sterling whose body was found stuffed in a trunk last week. Authorities there say Reed died of blunt force trauma.

Investigators said Tuesday that they were seeking Sheley as a "person of interest" in the five deaths, and said he "should be considered armed and dangerous."

State Police Sgt. Thomas Burek said Sheley was an acquaintance of one of the people found dead inside the apartment.

Authorities also are examining possible connections between the cases and recent homicides in Galesburg, a community about 60 miles southwest of Rock Falls, and in Festus, Mo., near St. Louis, Burek said.

Investigators were trying to determine if a body found Monday in Galesburg is that of a 65-year-old man who was reported missing, police Sgt. James Martinson said. The man's car was stolen and later found in Missouri, Martinson said.

Meanwhile, officials in Festus say police are investigating the deaths of a man and woman whose bodies were found Monday behind a gas station. The couple were identified as Tom and Jill Estes of Sherwood, Ark., who were in Missouri for a family function, said Lt. Cheryl Williams of the Sherwood Police Department.

Police said the man and woman had checked into a Comfort Inn in Festus on Friday and were last seen late Sunday. The couple's dogs were found in the hotel parking lot, covered with blood.

Police in Festus declined to comment on their investigation Tuesday. But officers in tactical gear searched an apartment building in Collinsville, Ill., Tuesday for a person of interest in the Festus slayings, Collinsville police Sgt. Rich Wittenauer said.

Wittenauer could not say whether it was the same person of interest being sought in the Illinois killings. Collinsville is about 40 miles northeast of Festus.