Hinsdale man gets 70 years in 2014 Bloomingdale slaying
A DuPage County judge all but assured Friday that a former Hinsdale businessman and father of four will die in an Illinois prison for the 2014 slaying of a Bloomingdale man.
Judge George Bakalis sentenced Jeffrey Keller, 54, to 70 years in prison for what he called the "incomprehensible execution" of former European basketball standout Nate Fox just three days before Christmas in Fox's Bloomingdale garage.
"The court has seen all kinds of murders but seldom has the court seen a murder done as an execution, which is what this was," Bakalis said. "The defendant prepared for it, ambushed Nate Fox and executed him."
Keller was eligible for a sentence of natural life in prison but Bakalis sentenced him to the minimum 45 years for the murder of Fox and an additional 25 years because the murder was committed with a gun.
Calling the penitentiary "an often dangerous place," Bakalis said any sentence over the minimum was equivalent to a life sentence.
Fox's mother, Marilyn Fox, and his girlfriend, Carlie Frayley, each sobbed as they read victim impact statements calling Fox a "gentle giant" whose laughter could change the mood of an entire room.
They each asked Bakalis to impose the maximum sentence.
"Nate can't get out of his coffin," Marilyn Fox said. "I ask that you never let the defendant get out to do this to anyone again."
A 12-member jury, consisting of seven men and five women, deliberated for one hour on May 26 before convicting Keller of first-degree murder.
Prosecutors presented their theory that Keller was "maniacally unhinged" in his faulty belief that 37-year-old Nate Fox was interfering with a woman with whom Keller had a relationship.
They said Keller stalked Fox for roughly 18 months before gunning him down as he exited his car in his Bloomingdale garage around 9:30 p.m. Dec. 22, 2014. Prosecutors said Fox was shot twice, once in the right wrist and once in the left shoulder, where the bullet zigzagged through his body, shattering his pulmonary artery, liver and a lung.
Prosecutors said Keller became angry in the spring of 2013 and accused a woman with whom he had a sexting relationship of having an actual sexual relationship with Fox, sparking Keller's yearlong obsession.
A native of Joliet, Fox attended Boston College and the University of Maine and played professional basketball for 12 years in Europe. He last signed in 2011 with the French club STB Le Havre.
Given a chance to speak before being sentenced, Keller turned his attention to Fox's family.
"I'm a man of great compassion and great empathy," Keller said. "As a father of four, I truly feel for the loss that you all feel."
Bakalis will hear Keller's motion to reconsider the sentence on Sept. 20.