BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A 19-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to murder in connection with a 2023 deadly shooting in Funks Grove.
Derek Siebring pleaded in McLean County Circuit Court as part of a deal that also saw him entering a guilty plea to aggravated battery in another case. That three-year sentence will be served after the murder term. Also, other counts of aggravated battery were dropped, according to McLean County State’s Attorney Ericka Reynolds.
Siebring must serve 100% of his murder term. The aggravated battery sentence is eligible for day-for-day “good-time” credit.
On Nov. 25, 2023, a man was found dead in a ditch near Funks Grove. Siebring was quickly named a suspect, was arrested and eventually confessed to beating the victim, Jamere Bew, 31, and then shooting him.
Then while in custody, Reynolds said, Siebring threw an object that hit a jailer at the McLean County Jail.
Two others are in custody and have cases pending regarding the Bew homicide. Both Justin Kletz and Gabrielle Stine are awaiting trial in their separate cases.
Stine, 23, faces counts of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection with Bew’s death. Kletz faces charges of murder, kidnapping and aggravated battery with a firearm. Both face decades behind bars if convicted.
What we know about the case
An autopsy indicated that Bew had been shot more than once. According to court records and the CIPROUD.com archives, Bew’s body was found in a ditch off U.S. Route 136 near County Road 1025 East. That’s near Heyworth in the southcentral portion of the county.
McLean County Sheriff’s deputies were originally called to the area of 1375 East County Road and 700 North County Road on a report of a woman looking for a man who was allegedly the victim of violence. This is about 9 miles from where Bew was found.
As the deputies worked alongside the Bloomington Police Department to begin the investigation, it led to an apartment in the 1600 block of Springfield Road in Funks Grove Township. A search warrant was served by the deputies which resulted in two people being detained.
They were Kletz and Siebring.
It’s alleged that Stine’s vehicle was the one used to drive Bew’s body to the rural area where it was found. Later, officers found a strong smell of bleach at the apartment on Springfield Road as well as a couch from the unit near a trash bin.
Stine has said Bew had sexually assaulted her. It’s also been alleged that Kletz helped lock him into a room in the apartment.
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