Judge reduces bond for woman charged in murder-for-hire plot

An Algonquin woman asked a Kane County judge to reduce her bond Wednesday so the man she's accused of plotting to kill could bail her out of jail.

Sherrieann Remsik-Miller, 45, has been in the county lockup since her arrest in late August on charges she solicited her husband's murder.

On Wednesday, she asked Judge Thomas E. Mueller to reduce her bail from $2 million to $50,000 so her husband, Gerrald Miller, could afford a 10 percent bond. Mueller cut the amount to $1 million.

Remsik-Miller's attorney had argued his client had no reputation for violence and had never before been charged with a crime. He also noted the charges accuse her of targeting a specific person, not random members of the public.

Testifying on her own behalf, Remsik-Miller said she was studying to become a drug and alcohol counselor and had one semester to complete at Elgin Community College when she was arrested. At the time, she and her husband had been married about eight years and were separated.

Remsik-Miller said she did not speak directly to her husband recently but that he offered through her son to help post bond. Gerrald Miller did not appear in court Wednesday but Mueller said the man's presence would not have altered his decision.

Remsik-Miller, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of solicitation of murder, a Class X felony. She is due back in court March 26.