Wednesday, November 23, 2005

The retrial of accused killer Sarah Kolb has been scheduled for February sixth. That decision came Wednesday at a special hearing at the Rock Island County Courthouse.

Kolb's defense lawyer David Hoffman says he will probably ask for a change of venue, moving the trial to another county. Hoffman says all the publicity during her first trial could make it difficult for Kolb to get an unbiased jury in the Quad Cities. The change of venue request could come next week.Where the trial takes place is ultimately up to the judge.

Kolb's first trial ended in a mistrial on November 16th. Only one of the jurors, Murk Hurty of Moline, voted NOT to convict her.

Kolb is accused of killing and dismembering 16-year old Adrianne Reynolds of East Moline. Kolb's co-defendant, 17-year old Cory Gregory of Moline, goes on trial February 21st. 

Wednesday, November 16, 3:40pm

The judge at the Sarah Kolb murder trial has declared a mistrial. After 15 hours of deliberating, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on any of the three charges. Kolb was charged with two counts of first degree murder and one count of concealing a homicide. We will have a live report on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 5, and a full wrap-up of the day's events on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 10.

Wednesday, November 16, 11:10am

The jury at the Sarah Kolb trial has asked the judge what "presumption of innocence" means. He has told them. The jury has also ordered lunch.

Wednesday, November 16, 10:00am

The jury at the Sarah Kolb murder trial has begun a second day of deliberations.

Tuesday, November 15, 6:25pm

The jury at the Sarah Kolb murder trial met with the judge at 4:30pm. The jurors told the judge they were having difficulty on the legal definition of "intent."  The judge said he would provide them with that legal definition.  The jury did not reach a verdict today; deliberations will resume tomorrow at 9am.

Tuesday, November 15, 4:25pm

The jury at the Sarah Kolb murder trial has deliberated all day without reaching a verdict. They must decide if Kolb is guilty on two counts of first degree homicide and one count of concealing a homicide in the death of 16 year old Adrianne Reynolds. The judge set 4:30pm for a meeting with the jurors to decide if they would continue deliberating today, or start again tomorrow. We will bring you the latest as it becomes available.

Tuesday, November 15,  9:40am

The Sarah Kolb murder trial is now in the hands of the jury.

Tuesday, November 15th,  9:15am

The Sarah Kolb murder trial has resumed at the Rock Island County courthouse.  Jury instructions began at 9 o'clock.  Afterwards, the jurors will begin deliberations. 

Monday, November 14th,  4:00pm

Closing arguments are done at the Sarah Kolb murder trial. Court is over for the day. The jury will be back at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.  The judge will give the jurors their instructions, and they will be sent off to deliberate.

Just before court ended today, the judge dismissed a female juror.  An alternate will replace her. Neither the defense nor prosecution would say why the juror was dismissed. Defense Attorney David Hoffman DID say she did nothing wrong.

The jury must decide if Kolb is guilty on two counts of first degree homicide, and one count of concealing a homicide.

This morning, before the defense rested, Sarah Kolb took the witness stand again. Kolb disputed earlier testimony by a woman who said she had seen Kolb sitting on co-defendent Cory Gregory's lap the night of the murder. The prosecution used the woman's testimony to show that Kolb was NOT afraid of Gregory as she claimed. Today, Kolb said the witness was drunk that night, and her testimony was wrong. Gregory faces the same charges as Kolb. He will be tried in February. 

During his final rebuttal, prosecutor Jeff Terronez refuted Kolb's claim that the witnesses were all lying about her.  Terronez said he had heard there had been a party at The Mark. He said it was called, "The Let's All Get Together And Frame Sarah Kolb Party."

Friday, November 11th, 9:00am

Due to Veterans' Day the Sarah Kolb murder trial will resume on Monday morning. Channel 4 Eyewitness news reporter Nicol Lally has more in depth detail from Thursday's testimony...

Sarah Kolb was composed and confident as she answered questions from defense attorney David Hoffman. She began by describing the first time she saw Adrianne Reynolds during a smoking break at the Black Hawk Outreach Center.

She described Reynolds as a "very pretty girl" and said she was "very attracted to her." Kolb was interested in a relationship with Reynolds, but said she wanted to get to know her better. The two wrote several letters to each other. Kolb wanted to take the relationship slow because she said she had just had a bad break-up with another girl.

Things started to sour between the two girls in December. Kolb became upset that Reynolds was having sex with boys. She told jurors by then she "didn't want a future with Adrianne Reynolds."

That's when Kolb said Reynolds began to annoy her with phone calls every hour and notes at school. Kolb and Reynolds had very little contact with one another by the end of December. Kolb refused to answer phone calls and threw away the notes.

On January 21st, Kolb picked up Cory Gregory and her boyfriend Sean McKittrick and headed to school. She said she was in a good mood that day because she didn't have to work When the group got to school, there were rumors going around that Kolb was going to beat Reynolds up.

Later in the day, Kolb found out Reynolds wanted to steal her boyfriend. That news made Kolb angry. She admits to writing a journal entry about "wanting to (expletive) kill her" because she was mad.

The two never argued in school, as other witnesses testified. Kolb said Reynolds approached her crying. Reynolds was very upset about having no friends and no one to talk to. Kolb said she felt bad for her and invited Reynolds to lunch, even though she still didn't like her.

Kolb confronted Reynolds about her feelings for McKittrick in her car in the Taco Bell parking lot. Reynolds told her she "thought he was hot." Kolb said she "freaked out" when she heard this and grabbed Reynolds by her hair.

She said she told Reynolds to stay away from all of them. Reynolds curled up in a fetal position in the front seat of the car and stopped fighting. Kolb said she stopped fighting then because she "felt small" when Reynolds wouldn't fight back.

Kolb said Gregory is the one who pulled Reynolds into the back seat. Kolb said Reynolds tried to get out of the car, but couldn't free herself from Gregory. Kolb said when she looked in the back seat, she saw Reynolds across Gregory's lap and he had a stick against her throat.

When Kolb told him to stop, he hit Kolb in the face with the stick. Kolb said he was hysterical and told her this had to happen. When Gregory told her Reynolds was dead, Kolb said she was in shock and didn't know what to do. She said that's when Gregory wrapped his belt around Reynolds neck, covered her with his coat and they drove to Kolb's house in Milan.

Kolb said she followed all of Gregory's instructions about where to drive and when to put the body in her trunk because she was frightened. She turned and faced the jury and said "I was scared of him. I just saw him kill somebody." Kolb described driving to Big Island in Milan and Gregory putting the body in the trunk. She said when she opened the back door to her car, Reynolds body fell out and Kolb looked at the body and noticed that Adrianne's eyes were open. At that point, Kolb decided she could no longer be involved with this situation.

Kolb and Gregory then took Reynolds' body to a remote part of Kolb's grandparent's farm in Millersburg, IL. She said they made five trips to the that part of the farm on Friday. Kolb said it was Gregory who wrapped Reynolds' body in a blue tarp, doused it with gasoline and set it on fire. Kolb turned her back and said she couldn't watch. It was during the burning that Kolb said Gregory threatened to kill her, her family and even her cats if she told anybody or did anything.

When defense attorney David Hoffman asked Kolb, "Did you strangle her?", she said "No."

During cross examination, Kolb's demeanor changed while answering questions from State's Attorney Jeff Terronez. She told Terronez she never told others she knocked Reynolds' teeth out. She said many of the witnesses the prosecution called were wrong and she didn't know where they gotten their stories.

When Terronez asked why she never told anyone what happened when she had the opportunity, Kolb said she couldn't and then asked, "Has anyone ever threatened you?" Judge James Teros told Kolb to stop answering with questions. At the end of cross examination, Terronez had Kolb read her journal entry dated January 21st. In front of the jury, Kolb read the words "I'll (expletive) kill her."

Kolb was on the stand for nearly three hours. She showed little emotion, except for a few heated exchanges with Terronez. During the testimony, several of her family members cried and consoled one another.

Thursday, November 10th, 4:30pm

Sarah Kolb took the stand in her own defense Thursday. She said she didn't kill Adrianne Reynolds, that Cory Gregory did. She also explained why she never told police what happened when she had the chance.

Defense Attorney David Hoffman got his chance, Thursday, to present his case. He called 5 witnesses, including the defendant Sarah Kolb. In her 2 hour testimony she talked about her relationship with Reynolds up to the day of the murder. Kolb admits to inviting Reynolds to lunch at Taco Bell and said she grabbed her hair and told her to stay away from her friends. She said Reynolds pulled away and the two never hit each other. She said Cory Gregory is the one who pulled Reynolds in the back seat and ultimately killed her by strangling her with a stick. Kolb said she tried to stop Gregory and he hit her with the stick breaking her hose. Kolb then admits to taking the body to the farm in Millersburg, but she did not take part in the burning. She said Gregory threatened to kill her if she told anyone. During cross examination, Kolb became angry with State's Attorney Jeff Terronez, even questioning some of his questions.

The defense has not rested, they could still present rebuttal evidence. Court is closed for Veterans' Day Friday. The trial resumes Monday at 10:30am.

Thursday, November 10th, Noon

The Sarah Kolb murder trial is in a lunch break. Testimony resumes at one o'clock when Sarah Kolb is expected to take the stand in her own defense.

Thursday, November 10th, 10:00am

As expected the prosecution rested this morning and the defense took over. Defense Attorney David Hoffman has called four witnesses so far.

Currently on the stand is Mike Scheckel. Scheckel is a Special Agent for the Illinois State Police and the lead investigator in the Adrianne Reynolds case.

The defense also said Sarah Kolb will be taking the stand; possibly even today.

Thursday, November 10th, 9:00am

This morning, when the trial resumes, the prosecution is expected to rest.

Wednesday, November 9th, Noon

The Sarah Kolb murder trial has wrapped up for the day. Proceedings resume tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning. Today, Prosecutor Jeff Terronez called his final three witnesses.

First on the stand was East Moline police officer Josh Allen. He was the first to call Kolb the day Reynolds was reported missing. The tape of the phone call was played in court today.

On the tape, Kolb says she dropped Reynolds off at an East Moline McDonalds earlier in the day. She also said Reynolds was wearing an unmissable bright orange hoodie. Kolb told the officer she and Reynolds were not friends, but that she agreed to give Reynolds a ride anyhow. Kolb said she had gotten at least 15 voice mails on her cell phone from Reynolds' family.

Kolb said Reynolds' brother was hostile to her on the phone. Kolb asked the officer if she were in trouble, and if there was a warrant out for her.

The tape ends with Kolb asking the officer to call her cell phone if he hears anything at all about Reynolds.

The next two witnesses were teenaged girls who had been held at the same juvenile detention center with Kolb. Both testified that Kolb talked about a fight with Reynolds and that Reynolds had passed out.

Prosecutors have called 42 witnesses so far. Terronez says he wants to review everything that's been presented in court, make sure nothing has been omitted, and then rest his case, probably tomorrow.

The defense is expected to call at least five witnesses. Defense lawyer David Hoffman says he is not yet sure if Kolb will take the stand in her own defense.

Tuesday, November 8th, 10:45am

Nathan Gaudet took the stand in the Sarah Kolb Murder Trial this morning. Guadet has already confessed to helping to cut up and hide Adrianne Reynolds' body. He is serving time in a juvenile detention facility.

Gaudet told the courtroom that he wasn't with Kolb and Gregory on Friday, January 21st. He said he met up with them on Saturday, January 22nd. Gaudet said Kolb and Gregory asked him, "What would you do if you killed somebody?" Then Kolb and Gregory told him they killed Adrianne Reynolds.

Gaudet said Sarah Kolb hit Adrianne Reynolds in the face and then hit her over the head with a stick. Then Cory Gregory held Reynolds arms while Sarah Kolb strangled her to death.

Kolb and Gregory told Gaudet after they strangled Reynolds that blood started coming out of her mouth.

Gaudet said Cory Gregory wrapped his belt around Adrianne Reynolds neck while driving to Big Island and once Gregory and Kolb got to Big Island they moved the body into the trunk and headed out to Millersburg.

Gaudet said they burned Reynolds' body for 6 hours.

When Kolb and Gregory were done telling Gaudet about the murder he said the three of them discussed a plan to dispose of the body. He said Kolb and Gregory picked him up on Sunday, January, 23rd, at his grandma's house in Moline, Illinois. Gaudet said he brought the saw and the three of them went to the farm in Millersburg where they decided to cut up the body.

Nathan Gaudet said he is the one who cut up the body because he wanted to help keep Sarah and Cory out of jail.

Gaudet said the reason the teens hid the body in different areas was to split up dental records and finger prints. Gaudet said it was Sarah's idea.

Tuesday, November 8th, 9:00am

Testimony resumes at 9:30 this morning at the Sarah Kolb murder trial. The prosecution is expected to call Nathan Gaudet to the stand. The 16 year old Gaudet has already pled guilty to helping Kolb burn, dismember, and hide Adrianne Reynolds' body.

Monday, November 7th, 4:10pm

Two witnesses took the stand after today's lunch break at the Sarah Kolb murder trial. They were Kolb's grandfather Brian Engle and her cousin John Engle.

The two men work the Millersburg farm where parts of Adrianne Reynolds' body were found. The men testified that they saw Kolb and Gregory at the farm after 6:00pm on January 21st. Kolb told the men she was showing Gregory around.

Nathan Gaudet is expected to take the witness stand tomorrow. Gaudet has already pled guilty to helping burn, dismember, and hide Reynold's body. He is serving time in a juvenile detention facility.

Channel 4 Eyewitness News reporter Nicol Lally will be back in the court room when testimony resumes at 9:30 Tuesday morning.

Monday, November 7th, 1:30pm

Testimony resumed a short time ago at the Sarah Kolb murder trial. We will have updates for you as details come out of the court room. Reporter Nicol Lally will also have a live report from the court house for you this evening on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 5, and a full wrap up of the day's events on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 10.

Monday, November 7th, 11:15am

Things are moving ahead of schedule. Six people took the stand before lunch. The last was Mary Engle, Sarah Kolb's grandmother. Engle said she saw Kolb on the afternoon of the 21st at Treasure Hunt in Aledo, a store she manages. It was Engle's birthday, and Engle thought Kolb had come to say, "Happy birthday." Cory Gregory was with Kolb. Engle described Kolb as quiet and fidgety that day. The three went to Engle's house. A short time later, Kolb and Gregory returned to Milan. After her testimony, Engle broke down in tears in the hallway outside the court room.

Testimony resumes at one o'clock. Nicol Lally will also have a live report from the Rock Island Court House tonight on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 5... and a wrap-up of the day's events on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 10.

Monday, November 7th, 10:25am

In just 90 minutes this morning the prosecution has called 5 people to the stand.

The first two witnesses called this morning were an older couple. Both of them testified that they were eating lunch at Taco Bell on January 21st, 2005. They said they noticed a red car and something going on inside the car. The couple identified Sarah Kolb and said she was sitting in the passenger seat of the car and that it seemed like there was a fight going on in the back of the car.

The third witness to take the stand this morning was Sarah Kolb's father, Darrin Klauer. He testified that nothing seemed unusual on January 21st. He said he saw Sarah around two o'clock in the afternoon and Cory Gregory was with her.

The fourth witness to take the stand was Della Smoldt, Sarah's aunt. She told the courtroom that she runs Treasure Hunt, a family owned business in Aledo. Smoldt said see saw Sarah and Cory Gregory around 4:00pm that day. She said she noticed a flesh scratch on Sarah's face. Sarah told Smoldt that Gregory had been wrestling with Kolb and that's how Kolb's face got scratched.

The fifth witness to take the stand this morning was another classmate of Sarah's. The witness testified that nothing seemed unusual the day of January 21st.

Monday, November 7th

Testimony at the Sarah Kolb murder trial resumed at 9:00 o'clock this morning.

Friday, November 4th, 4:05pm

Testimony at the Sarah Kolb murder trial has finished for the week. Proceedings will resume at nine o'clock Monday morning.

In Friday afternoon's testimony, another former classmate of Kolb and Adrianne Reynolds took the stand. She testified that on January 21st Kolb asked her if hitting someone on the back of the head could kill them.

The former classmate said Kolb seemed emotionless when she asked the question. She also testified Kolb told her she was going to take a girl to a farm and beat her with a stick.

The former classmate said she didn't tell school officials about the conversation until the following Wednesday, five days after Reynolds disappeared.

Also on Friday afternoon, a man who knew neither Kolb nor Reynolds took the stand. He said he had lunch at the Moline Taco Bell on January 21st.

The man said he was leaving the restaurant when he saw people in a car and a lot of commotion. He testified it looked like someone was getting beat up, and the car was rocking back and forth.

The man testified that he left the parking lot because he thought it was just teenagers fooling around.

Court sources tell Channel 4 Eyewitness News that Nathan Gaudet will take the witness stand next week, possibly on Tuesday. Gaudet is a former schoolmate of Kolb and Reynolds. He was not charged in Reynolds' murder. But, he did plead guilty as a juvenile to helping burn, dismember and hide Reynolds' body.

Channel 4 Eyewitness News reporter Nicol Lally will be back in the court room on Monday morning.

Friday, November 4th, 1:00pm

Testimony has resumed at the Sarah Kolb murder trial. We will have updates for you as details come out of the court room. Reporter Nicol Lally will also have a live report from the court house for you this evening on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 5, and a full wrap up of the day's events on Channel 4 Eyewitness News at 10.

Friday, November 4th, Noon

The Sarah Kolb murder trial is in a lunch break at 11:40am. Since our earlier update at 10:30am, here is some of what's happened:

The prosecution introduced a journal kept by Kolb as an English class project. On the January 21st entry, Kolb wrote that she might possibly be expelled... and also wrote, "I'll (expletive) kill her."

A former schoolmate of Kolb took the stand. James Kettering said Kolb had told him she was angry with Reynolds and was, "going to beat her (expletive.)"

Kettering testified he was invited to go to lunch with Kolb and Reynolds on January 21st, but he had other plans.

Kettering said that when Kolb left for lunch she said, "I'm going to go have fun."

There was a new face today in the courtroom. Cheryl Ashcraft sat with the family of Adrianne Reynolds. Ashcraft is the sister of the late Jone Knapton of East Moline. Knapton went missing in July of 2003. Like Reynolds, Knapton's dismembered body was later found in the countryside. Despite the work of a special police task force, no one has ever been arrested for Knapton's murder.

Testimony resumes at one o'clock this afternoon.

Friday, 10:30am

Testimony resumed at 9 o'clock this morning at the Sarah Kolb murder trial inside the Rock Island County Court House. 17 year old Kolb of Milan is accused of killing, burning, and dismembering her classmate, 16 year old Adrianne Reynolds of East Moline.

During a short break in the trial at about 10:30 this morning, Channel 4 Eyewitness News reporter Nicol Lally reported the following developments:

At the time of the murder, Sarah Kolb worked at the Cinema 53 in Davenport. This morning, one of her former co-workers took the witness stand.

The co-worker said that on January 22nd, the day after Reynolds disappeared, the police called Kolb at Cinema 53. The co-worker said Kolb seemed jumpy and nervous during the call.

Afterwards, the co-worker and Kolb had a conversation. According to the co-worker, Kolb said she had gotten into a fight with a girl in her car the day before.

The co-worker said Kolb asked her if the police could look in her car.

The co-worker says she told Kolb that if the police found anything in her car, but didn't find the girl, "you're screwed."

The co-worker testified that Kolb then described the fight to her, including that she started choking the girl, and that the girl spit blood.

The co-worker said Kolb told her that Cory Gregory "finished."

Sarah Kolb also said she didn't like the girl she choked.

The co-worker testified that Kolb then changed her story, saying Gregory had no involvement, and that the girl got loose and ran into McDonald's.

At no point, testified the co-worker, did Kolb mention Adrianne Reynolds by name.

The trial is now back in session.

Thursday, November 3rd

Testimony in Sarah Kolb's murder trial has ended for Thursday. The trial resumes Friday morning at 9:00 o'clock.

On Thursday, the first person to testify was the forensic pathologist who did the autopsy on Adrianne Reynold's body.

The pathologist said she could not determine the exact cause of death, but that smothering and/or strangulation were a strong possibility. She also said the body was dismembered and severely charred.

The next person to testify was Sean McKittrick, a classmate of both girls. McKittrick kept his head down and was visibly nervous. Much of his testimony was mumbled, and the judge had to tell him repeatedly to speak up.

McKittrick testified that he was Sarah Kolb's boyfriend at the time of the murder.

McKittrick said that on January 21, 2005, he went to lunch at Taco Bell on Moline's Avenue of the Cities in Sarah Kolb's car. Adrianne Reynolds was in the front with Kolb. McKittrick was in the back with another classmate, Cory Gregory.

McKittrick said Kolb asked Reynolds for a hug, then grabbed Reynold's hair and started yelling at her. McKittrick says he asked Sarah to stop, that it wasn't right.

According to McKittrick, Sarah Kolb said, "If you don't like it, get out."

McKittrick said he got out of the car and walked back to school.

McKittrick also testified that during the fight Adrianne Reynolds was crying, but he never saw the girls hit each other.

McKittrick testified that later that night, he spoke to Kolb on her cell phone for a split second but she didn't want to talk. McKittrick said Cory Gregory got on the phone and they had a 10 minute conversation. Details of that conversation did not come out in court Thursday morning.

On January 22nd, McKittrick said he saw Kolb at Gregory's house. (McKittrick was living at Gregory's house at this time.) McKittrick testified that Sarah then broke up with him. Sarah told McKittrick she had lost all respect for him because McKittrick told a neighbor about the Taco Bell incident.

On cross examination by Kolb's lawyer, McKittrick said he left the car because there was going to be a fight. McKittrick also said the driver's door on Kolb's car could not be opened from the inside.

McKittrick also testified that Sarah Kolb was often mean spirited and often talked about "kicking people's asses."

McKittrick and Kolb did not make eye contact during McKittrick's testimony. When asked if he could identify Kolb in the court room, McKittrick waved in Kolb's direction and said, "That's her in the white shirt."

Both Kolb's family and Reynold's family were in the crowded court room again Thursday.

After a break for lunch, testimony resumed at one o'clock Thursday afternoon.

Several teenagers testified about a house in Rock Island that was rented by a group of young people. The teens testified that Sarah Kolb took Adrianne Reynolds to that house to see if Reynolds were promiscuous.

According to the teen witnesses, Adrianne had sex with two people at the house.

One teenager then testified that Sarah Kolb wanted to "get with" Adrianne Reynolds, but didn't because she was promiscuous. Neither attorney touched on the issue on whether Adrianne and Sarah ever had a physical relationship.

One of the teenaged witnesses told the court Kolb said she wanted to kill Reynolds.

Testimony resumes Friday morning at nine o'clock. We will update our web coverage as details come out of the court room.

Wednesday, November 2nd

Opening arguments were made Wednesday morning. Prosecutor Jeff Terronez told the jury that 16-year-old Adrianne Reynolds was the new kid at Black Hawk Outreach Center and she was just trying to make some friends. Terronez said Adrianne's fatal mistake was annoying Sarah Kolb.

Terronez also laid out a timeline for the murder of Reynolds, the burning of her body and the dismemberment. Terronez told the jury that his list of witness will prove the timeline to be accurate.

Defense attorney David Hoffman told the jury this would be a difficult case due to the variety of different stories they will hear from witnesses. He told the jurors to pay attention to fact and avoid opinion, rumors and heresay.

Terronez called nine witness to the stand on Wednesday. Three were classmates of Kolb and Reynolds from Black Hawk Outreach Center. Each answered questions that helped establish a relationship between Reynolds and Kolb.

Two witnesses were East Moline police officers. One of them had interviewed Kolb the day after Reynolds vanished. Audio tapes of that interview were played in court today. In the tape, Kolb tells the police officer she had no idea where Reynolds had gone.

Two investigators from the Illinois State Police also testified. They showed videotapes of the two locations where Reynold's body parts were found. However, there were no graphic pictures, only video of the crime scenes.

Both Kolb's and Reynold's families were in the crowded courtroom today.

Channel 4 Eyewitness News reporter Nicol Lally will be back inside the court room tomorrow. She will bring you all the details of the proceedings.

Tuesday, November 1st

Jury selection was completed Tuesday at the Sarah Kolb murder trial. The panel consists of four men and eight women. There are three alternates: two men and a woman.

Opening arguments begin Wednesday morning at nine o'clock at the Rock Island County Court House.

Prosecutor Jeff Terronez says he is happy with the jury. He believes they are 12 people who will keep open minds throughout the trial.

Terronez and defense attorney David Hoffman both say they're pleased and surprised at how quickly the proceedings have been going.

17-year old Kolb and Co-defendant Cory Gregory each face two counts of First Degree Murder and one count of Concealing a Homicide in the death of Adrianne Reynolds. Gregory goes on trial in February.

Also at the court house for questioning on Monday was the third teen involved in the case, Nathan Gaudet. He pled guilty this Summer to helping hide Reynold's body.Gaudet did not appear in the Kolb courtroom Monday, but he is expected to take the stand during the trial.

Also on the list of trial witnesses is Sean McKittrick. McKittrick was in the car with Kolb, Gregory and Reynolds on the day of the alleged murder, but he left before any crime was committed. He does not face any charges.

Monday, October 31st

Jury selection began on Monday in the Sarah Kolb murder trial. By lunchtime, three jurors from a pool of 75 had been approved by both sides. During morning proceedings, Kolb smiled at her family.

The Milan teenager, and defendant beating and strangling 16 year old Adrianne Reynolds, then burning and dismembering her body. Kolb is now 17. Though only 16 when the murder occurred in January, Kolb is being tried as an adult.

17-year old Gregory's trial is scheduled for February. Kolb, Gregory, and Reynolds were classmates at the Black Hawk Outreach Center, an alternative high school in East Moline. Other students have said Kolb was jealous of Reynolds, a newcomer to the school.

The Kolb case is being tried by Rock Island State's Attorney Jeff Terronez. The trial is expected to take two weeks. During Monday's proceedings, a list of potential witnesses was presented. The list included Nathan Gaudet, a teenager who plead guilty to helping hide Reynold's murder. Gaudet is now serving time in juvenile detention. Also on the list was Sean McKittrick. McKittrick was in a car with Reynolds, Kolb, and Gregory but left when Kolb and Reynolds began fighting. McKittrick has not been charged with any crime.

Sarah Kolb, Cory Gregory And Nathan Gaudet

Pysih.com

As a nurse who works in an acute care setting, I find myself able to stomach the sort of things that those who choose other career paths might not be able to tolerate.

A lunch break where I work usually involves eating as quickly as we possibly can, and being frequently interrupted to attend to situations that might ruin the average appetite. After cleaning up blood or other bodily substances, I wash my hands and return to our half-eaten meal for a couple more bites. That’s right…while a sick patient is losing their lunch, I am often holding their emesis basin wondering when I will be able to finish my lunch.

But even my well-trained stomach took one hell of a leap when I read that after Sarah Kolb, 16, Cory Gregory, 17, and Nathan Gaudet, 16, dismembered the body of Adrianne Reynolds, they stopped at McDonald’s to enjoy some cheeseburgers before moving on to the dump site that they chose for the head and arms of their victim. A few days later, Cory Gregory lost the battle with his own conscience, and investigators were finally able to inform the Reynolds family that their daughter would not be coming home.

Sixteen-year-old Adrianne Reynolds was much like any other teenage girl. Life was not perfect for her in Longview, Texas, so to improve her situation she moved in with her adopted father and step-mother in East Moline, Illinois.

She was a talented singer, enjoyed performing songs for others, and could move listeners to tears with the sound of her voice. Unfortunately, she did not take a great interest in school, and with no high school credits to her name, she enrolled at Black Hawk College Outreach to obtain her GED.

It was at this alternative high school where she met Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory in November, 2004. Although they initially hit it off, the friendship quickly turned sour when Sarah Kolb became jealous of the new girl in school who was attracting many of the boys. According Gregory’s testimony, Sarah was bisexual and had been interested in dating Adrianne herself, which only contributed to her jealously.

After a heated argument in December, Adrianne tried desperately to repair their friendship, while Sarah had a different sort of resolution in mind. She told several classmates and even wrote in her journal of her intentions to kill Adrianne.

On January 21, 2005, when Sarah and Cory invited her to lunch to discuss the friendship, Adrianne accepted and got into the car with them. The classmates drove to a nearby Taco Bell parking lot where drama between the two girls erupted in broad daylight during the busy lunch hour.

What exactly happened in the car is unclear, because after their arrests Cory and Sarah did exactly what anyone would expect-they pointed fingers at each other. Witnesses at Taco Bell that day were unable to shed much light on the situation because the winter air outside caused the car windows to fog up, thus preventing a clear view of the inside of the car.

Yes, that is correct, there were witnesses who saw that something was happening in the car, but quickly shrugged it off as being nothing more than teenagers goofing around. Prosecutors believe the story that the two allegedly shared with Nathan Gaudet; that Cory held Adrianne’s arms while Sarah beat her with a wooden handle and strangled her with a belt.

Cory Gregory: “They just started swinging at each other and then Adrianne hits Sarah in the nose. Sara’s nose started bleeding. So Sarah grabbed this wooden stick that she keeps in her car for def — protection, she says, and started to hit her a couple times with it and they kept fighting and wrestling and it moved to the back seat.

Sarah’s on top of Adrianne and she choking Adrianne and then Adrianne goes out and Sarah gets off her and sits in the car – sits back in the front seat. We sit there and smoke a cigarette for awhile.”

Regardless of what actually occurred in that car, these two teenagers were responsible for the beating and strangling death of Adrianne Reynolds, and they went on to prove this when they tried to dispose of the body. The duo drove to another location, put Adrianne’s body in the trunk of the car, and headed out to a farm owned by Sarah’s grandparents.

Cory Gregory: “We pour the gasoline on her and light her on fire.”

Rob Stafford, Dateline correspondent: “Who poured the gas?”

Cory Gregory: “I poured the gasoline on the tarp.”

Stafford: “Who lit the match?”

Cory Gregory: “It was a butane lighter. I used the lighter and lit it and then Sarah and I we just stood away and Sarah laid her head on my shoulder. She just started crying, you know, so I tried to sit there and comfort her.”

While the Reynold’s family was notifying police that their daughter had not shown up to work at Checker’s restaurant and that they believed she was missing, Cory and Sarah were trying to figure out what to do next with Adrianne, because she didn’t turn to ash as they expected she would:

Cory Gregory: “Sarah decides we need to get the body off the land and says, ‘We gotta cut the body up.’ Sarah’s trying to talk me into doing it. I’m like, ‘No, you know, I can’t do that, you know.’ Lighting a fire’s one thing, but I can’t cut up a body. It ain’t right.”

Stafford: “None of this is right, Cory.”

Cory Gregory: “I know, I know, none of this is right, but I told her, ‘I can’t do this, you know. I won’t do it.’

Cory Gregory: “(Nathan Gaudet’s) into blood and gore. He was the type of kid that’d go around killing animals and stuff, so Sarah figured he might help.”

The following day, Cory and Sarah enlisted their friend Nathan Gaudet to help them dispose of the body. Nathan, who they knew had a fascination with blood, gore, and killing animals, accompanied the other two teens to the farm with his grandfather’s handsaw, where he proceeded to dismember Adrianne. They dumped the torso and legs in a nearby ravine, and after grabbing a bite to eat, they drove to Black Hawk Historic Site where they buried the rest of her several feet below a manhole cover.

A few days later, Cory broke down and confessed to his parents and then to the police, telling his version of what happened to Adrianne:

Bert Gregory, Cory Gregory’s father: “He started crying. And I started asking him questions, and he started breaking down. He started crying more. So I knew something was up.”

“I just couldn’t even say anything. I just cried and hugged him. And he says, ‘Mom, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.’ At that point my heart was so broken, I didn’t even have words.”

“I said, ‘Did something happen to her in that car?’ And he started shaking his head, yes. He couldn’t talk.”

“I said, ‘Did she get hurt in the car?’ Shook his head yes. I said, ‘Did she get hurt bad? He said really, really a lot.’ I said, ‘Is she dead?’ He shook his head yes. I said, ‘Well where’ she at?’ He just couldn’t – he couldn’t talk.”

Shortly after, Nathan’s grandmother notified police of her grandson’s possible involvement after finding the bloody handsaw.

Cory Gregory claimed that his participation in the crime was only to help the girl he was in love with, Sarah Kolb, because he did not want her to go to jail. Fortunately, despite Cory’s original efforts, Sarah was tried as an adult. Unfortunately, on Wednesday, November 16th, 2005, Kolb’s first trial ended in a mistrial, after the jury failed to agree on a verdict.

Testimony began for Sarah Kolb’s retrial began on February 8th, 2006, and three weeks later she was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder and one count of concealing a homicide, and sentenced to 53 years behind bars.

Cory Gregory pled guilty to the same crimes in May of 2005 and will be serving a fabulous 45 years for his supposed minimal participation. On, December 17th, 2009, his latest appeal was denied by the 3rd District Appellate Court Of Illinois. Part of his complaint was that he should have gotten a lesser sentence because he was the one who lead authorities to Adrienne’s remains buried in Blackhawk State Park in Rock Island.

Seriously folks, Gregory’s appeal actually whined about that very thing (or words to that effect). The year before, when Cory Gregory’s appeal was heard before the Circuit Court, the judge called it a case of buyer’s remorse, referring to Gregory’s demand to withdraw his guilty plea and be given a new trial.

Unfortunately, the justice system failed Adrianne during the sentencing phase for Nathan. Plea bargaining and his age at the time of the crime earned him a puny sentence of five years in juvenile detention. Yes, that is correct – after doing the math in your head you have probably concluded the horrifying truth. Nathan Gaudet has already been released and is living freely among the rest of us. Shall we begin the betting on when we see his name involved in a crime again?