September 9, 2021 at 9:18 a.m.
Suspect in Oneida County murder case in custody in Illinois
Information from confidential informant led to arrest
Suspect in Oneida County murder case in custody in Illinois
Sheriff Grady Hartman issued a press release Tuesday afternoon announcing that Christopher Terrell Anderson, 30, had been taken into custody in Carol Stream, Ill. and is awaiting extradition to Oneida County.
Information from a confidential informant led to the arrest, the sheriff added.
In late August, the sheriff's office established a reward fund, hoping to motivate anyone with information on Anderson's whereabouts to come forward.
Police have been searching for Anderson since June 30 when the body of Hannah Miller, 26, was found on a roadside in the Town of Pelican. On July 1, a complaint was filed in Oneida County Circuit Court charging Anderson with first-degree intentional homicide.
According to the complaint, police responded to River Bend Road in the Town of Pelican on the morning of June 30 after receiving a 911 call reporting a female, later identified as Miller, lying on the side of the road.
"It was apparent that she was deceased from a gunshot wound or wounds," sheriff Hartman later reported.
According to the complaint, a couple traveling on River Bend Road discovered Miller's body.
The couple was headed from the Town of Pelican toward the City of Rhinelander when they realized they forgot something at their residence and decided to turn around, the complaint states. While traveling back toward their residence, the couple saw a black male and a white female "standing in or near the ditch line" on River Bend Road near a small white SUV. After retrieving the forgotten item, the couple headed back toward Rhinelander at which point they passed the same location where they saw the man and woman. However, "the small white SUV and black male were gone and the female was lying in the ditch line," the complaint states.
In an interview with police, Miller's mother reported that Miller and Anderson had been in a dating relationship for approximately four years and were the parents of a young child. She indicated that the couple moved to the Rhinelander area in the spring of 2020 and broke up in early June. She also reported that her daughter had expressed concern for her safety but offered few details about the relationship.
Following the Fourth of July weekend, Seth Wakefield, 24, of Rhinelander, was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide (as party to the crime) in connection with Miller's death.
According to the criminal complaint in his case, the state is alleging Wakefield "assisted in some of the planning" of the homicide, including renting a U-Haul to conduct surveillance of Miller and her relatives. When asked why he did not contact law enforcement to report Anderson's plans and activities, Wakefield allegedly told investigators he didn't think it was any of his business and that he was expecting some sort of compensation in exchange for providing assistance.
"Seth stated that on the night prior to the murder, Christopher stayed overnight at Seth's apartment (he had been staying there intermittently, according to the complaint) and the following morning when Christopher left, Seth was aware Christopher was leaving with the intent to commit a homicide," the complaint states. "Seth stated Seth simply waited to hear news of a homicide occurring."
Wakefield is being held in the county jail in lieu of $250,000 cash bail. A competency hearing in his case is scheduled for Oct. 21.
Both Anderson and Wakefield are facing the possibility of life in prison, if convicted.
"Sheriff Hartman would like to thank the community for the donations to the reward fund and the law enforcement professionals who assisted us in this investigation," the release states.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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