Ill. death spree suspect's battery case dismissed

GALESBURG, Ill. (AP) - A man accused of killing eight people in Illinois and Missouri won't face a second trial for aggravated battery after the case against him was dismissed.
Nicholas Sheley (SHEE'-lee) is accused of killing eight people in 2008. He's been convicted of killing a 65-year-old Galesburg man, and his second murder trial is scheduled for September.
In the battery case, Sheley was sentenced to seven years in prison after prosecutors accused him of dismantling a Knox County jail chair and throwing its legs at a guard. An appeals court, however, ruled the trial court erred in finding Sheley suffered from a "severe mental illness" that prevented him from preparing his own defense.
The (Galesburg) Register-Mail (http://bit.ly/NZShsO ) reports that Sheley wasn't in court Monday when the dismissal was granted.
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