A South Jacksonville man entered into an open plea yesterday in a two-year old reckless homicide case.
50-year old Michael O. Bailey entered an open plea of guilty to failure to report an accident resulting in an injury and/or death on Tuesday in Morgan County Circuit Court. Bailey was charged with that Class 2 felony along with reckless homicide and concealment of a homicidal death in September 2021.
Bailey was arrested after 58-year-old Edwina “Kris” Teubener of Jacksonville was found unconscious and not breathing on the grounds of the Prairieland Heritage Museum in a cornfield near the intersection of West Michigan Avenue and Tendick Street at approximately 3:30AM September 5, 2021.
The caller reported that citizens who were on the scene when the woman was found had begun performing CPR. A short time later Teubener was pronounced deceased by the Morgan County Coroner. Details surrounding the incident have never been released.
Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll says that Bailey will be sentenced within two months: “The parties attempted to come to some sort of negotiated agreement and were unable to. When that happens but the individual does want to accept responsibility for their actions, that’s what open pleas are for. [On Tuesday], Mr. Bailey took responsibility by pleading guilty and ultimately has let the judge to decide the sentencing. On August 22nd, the sentencing hearing will be held. The state will be presenting evidence and asking for a specific sentence and the defense will obviously be doing the same.”
Bailey faces up to 3-7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. However, the offense is probationable, which means Bailey could possibly serve between 2-4 years of probation instead of going to prison. Noll says he will not speak on the opinion of the Teubener Family on the plea, but he says they will have the opportunity to enter victim impact statements as a part of the pre-sentencing investigation done by the court.