Cops: Hinsdale man's 'emotional affair,' jealousy led to slaying
A wealthy Hinsdale businessman, who prosecutors say was obsessed with the misguided notion that a woman he was having an “emotional affair” with was seeing another man, is now charged with killing the man after several days of stalking his every move.
Prosecutors say Jeffrey Keller was convinced his victim, Nate Fox, was involved with the woman, identified as “Catie.” Keller even rented an SUV to surveil Fox, learning his movements and schedule in the days before Fox's murder, prosecutors say.
When the time came in late December, authorities said, Keller was lying in wait and shot Fox to death outside the man's Bloomingdale townhouse.
“Jealousy and envy, a motive as old as time,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said.
A DuPage judge on Friday denied bail for Keller, 51, who is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 22 slaying of Fox, a 37-year-old car salesman and former basketball player.
Prosecutors painted a picture of Keller as someone who came to the mistaken view that Fox was a rival who had to be eliminated.
They said Keller became angry and accused Catie of having a relationship with Fox, with whom she previously worked at an insurance agency. Despite her denials, prosecutors said, Keller was obsessed with the thought of her being with another man and needed Fox “out of the way.”
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.
“This was a tough case. It was during holidays, which makes it more difficult,” said Bloomingdale Police Chief Frank Giammarese. “We met with the Fox family during that time and we did not lose the fact that someone lost a loved one during the holiday season. So it gave us more drive to find the person responsible for that murder.”
The big break for police came within the past week when investigators received a call from a longtime friend of Keller, CEO of an Oakbrook Terrace-based online sports business.
The friend told police he spent the weekend of Jan. 8-9 with Keller, out of state. During that time, the friend said, Keller confessed to killing Fox and shared numerous details, Berlin said.
“(Keller) told his friend that (Fox) was in a place that he shouldn't have been, that he was in the middle, in the way, and that's why he killed him,” he said.
Prosecutors said Keller even told the friend he regretted not going back to Fox's body and delivering a third, “kill shot” to ensure Fox was dead before he fled the scene.
Details shared by the friend led police to the home of Keller's out-of-state relatives.
Keller stayed there briefly before the killing, and after he left, a 9 mm gun, kept in the safe in the room where Keller had stayed, was missing.
“When the relatives showed police where the gun was normally kept, the gun, in fact, was there — along with 9 mm ammunition of the same type used in the homicide,” Berlin said. “The relatives told police Keller returned, shortly after the murder, when taking one of his kids out of state to school.”
In between out-of-state trips, Keller, the owner of four cars, rented a black SUV on Dec. 16, said Tim Diamond, chief deputy assistant state's attorney.
Neighbors of Fox reported seeing a black SUV parked near Fox's home in the days leading up to the murder.
Diamond said Keller had stalked Fox to the point that he realized the 6-foot, 9-inch athlete would be in an “awkward” and “defenseless” position as he exited his red Jaguar.
At 9:34 p.m. Dec. 22, Fox's girlfriend was preparing dinner inside the home. She heard two popping sounds, raced outside and found Fox hunched by the car.
He was taken to Adventist GlenOaks Medical Center in Glendale Heights, where he died, police said.
Within hours of the murder, Keller returned the SUV, but not before becoming paranoid that tracking devices, such as the iPass in the vehicle, would have tracked his movements, prosecutors said.
Keller's next-door neighbor, Cecilia Gaherty, said she and her husband brought Keller and his wife, Elaine, a bottle of wine as a Christmas gift on the afternoon of Dec. 23.
“There was nothing to ever indicate he was a killer, especially the very next day,” Gaherty said Friday afternoon. “He is a super, super nice guy and they are a great family. He has a key to my house, so I hope this is all a mistake.”
Keller is next due in court at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday before Judge George Bakalis to be arraigned. If convicted, Keller, who has no previous convictions, faces a minimum of 45 years in prison.
Keller is the CEO of a business called 8to18inc.com, which owns and operates the popular Athletics2000 online platform that many local school districts use to highlight their athletic programs. Calls placed to the business Friday were not returned.
Asked if he were shocked that a wealthy businessman from Hinsdale was charged with such a crime, Berlin said no.
“Unfortunately we see crime in every community. There are no boundaries, no economic boundaries, no geographic boundaries when it comes to violent crime,” he said. “There is no such thing as a typical murder. There is no such thing as a typical defendant, so nothing surprises me anymore.”