Judge Robbin Stuckert issues her ruling against an appeal by William Curl for trial in the 2010 murder of Antinette Keller on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill. Curl, who will have to serve the remainder of his 37-year murder sentence, was not present in the courthouse, nor were immediate family members of the victim. (Matthew Apgar/Daily Chronicle via AP)
The Associated Press
SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) - A northern Illinois judge has denied a man's request to withdraw his guilty plea in the 2010 death of a Northern Illinois University student.
The (DeKalb) Daily-Chronicle reports that the ruling means 41-year-old William Curl will continue to serve his 37-year prison sentence for the murder of 18-year-old freshman Antinette Keller. Curl had asked a judge to throw out his guilty plea and order a trial.
Judge Robbin Stuckert wrote that Curl's petition didn't establish that his constitutional rights were denied. Curl argued he wasn't "right in the head" when he talked to police after his arrest.
Curl filed a petition in 2015 asking for post-conviction relief. In May he was granted a hearing that was held last month.
Keller, of Plainfield, was last seen Oct. 14, 2010. Her burned remains were later found at a park.
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Information from: The Daily Chronicle, http://www.daily-chronicle.com
Defense attorney Dan Transier listens to the ruling by Judge Robbin Stuckert against an appeal by William Curl to withdraw his guilty plea in the 2010 murder of Antinette Keller on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill. Curl, who will have to serve the remainder of his 37-year murder sentence, was not present in the courthouse, nor were immediate family members of the victim. (Matthew Apgar/Daily Chronicle via AP)
The Associated Press
Brenda White, right, friend of the Keller family, and John Szatkowski, left, cousin of Antinette Keller's mother, leave the DeKalb County Courthouse happy with Judge Robbin Stuckert's ruling against an appeal by William Curl to withdraw his guilty plea in the 2010 murder of Keller on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Sycamore, Ill. Curl, who will have to serve the remainder of his 37-year murder sentence, was not present in the courthouse, nor were immediate family members of the victim. (Matthew Apgar/Daily Chronicle via AP)
The Associated Press