Girlfriend of mass shooter Romeo Nance charged with obstructing manhunt after he killed 8, including mom and 4 siblings
The girlfriend of mass shooter Romeo Nance has been charged with allegedly helping him avoid getting arrested after he gunned down eight people in suburban Chicago, including his mom, four siblings and a random stranger.
Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, the 21-year-old mom of Nance’s 3-year-old son, had been questioned Monday during the massive manhunt after bodies were found at multiple locations in Joliet, the Chicago Sun-Times said.
“Following questioning of Cleveland-Singleton, detectives believed that she made statements in order to prevent the apprehension of the suspect and obstruct this investigation,” police said, according to the paper.
Nance, 26, was later found hundreds of miles away in Texas, where he shot himself dead when cornered by cops.
Cleveland-Singleton was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of obstruction of justice. She was held in Will County Jail and due in court Thursday morning, WLS said.
Cleveland-Singleton’s arrest came as authorities also confirmed Nance’s relationships to the dead, mostly relatives found in two homes.
They included the shooter’s mother, Tameka Nance, 47, an aunt, Christine Esters, 38, and an uncle, William Esters II, 35.
He also killed his older brother Joshua Nance, 31, as well as three sisters — Aleandria Nance, 20, Alonnah Nance, 16, and Angel Nance, the youngest slain at just 14.
He was then caught on surveillance footage unloading on a 42-year-old man, who survived after getting hit in the leg, before killing his final victim, Toyosi Bakare, 28, who is thought to be a stranger.
Bakare, a Nigerian immigrant, was out trying to buy cigarettes at a nearby gas station when he was gunned down, cops said. He was found bleeding on the ground and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities have been left baffled in trying to pin down a motive for the mass shooting by Nance, who shot himself dead Monday night after law enforcement officials in Texas tracked him down.
Investigators believe he stopped at a mall and stole license plates for his vehicle to throw law enforcement off his trail before he was eventually found.
Local authorities have deemed the shooting “the worst crime scene” they’ve seen in the community in decades.
The longtime criminal also had an extensive track record.
In January of last year, Nance allegedly fired gunshots at a woman in a car. Later that month he was also charged with criminal damage to government property after he allegedly broke the glass of his cell door. In February, he was charged with a misdemeanor count of battery while still behind bars.
He was released from jail in March of last year when his sister posted the required 10% of his bond.
Following the horrifying mass shooting, President Biden said he and his wife, Jill Biden, were praying for the eight victims and their shaken community.
“This tragedy underscores why I am doing everything in my power to keep guns off our streets and out of the hands of those who seek to harm themselves or others,” Biden said in a statement.
“It is within our power to stop the epidemic of gun violence tearing our communities apart.”
