Article Options

Bond denied in case against Centralia man

BY BECKY MALKOVICH, The Southern

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 10:52 PM CDT

MARION COUNTY - Bond was denied Wednesday for the Centralia man accused of murdering a first-grade teacher by first intentionally striking her with his vehicle, beating and sexually assaulting her and later, returning to the scene of his crime to stab her repeatedly with a knife.

Neil A. Barrall, 27, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of capital murder in connection with the weekend murder of Rita "Michele" Cavaletto, 38. The capital charge makes the case against Barrall death-penalty eligible because during the alleged commission of committing an act of first-degree murder, he allegedly committed aggravated criminal sexual assault.

No motive was offered but police believe Cavaletto was chosen at random by her killer.

According to a probable cause statement presented in Marion County court Wednesday by State's Attorney Matt Wilzbach, Barrall "purposefully struck" Cavaletto with his white Jeep as she was out for a morning walk last Saturday morning within a few miles of her Walnut Hill residence.

Barrall's arrest comes after an intense investigation by state police and Marion County law enforcement.

One of the strongest leads was developed when a driver for an elevator company came forward after hearing reports of the murder and told police he was traveling on Copple Road Saturday and remembered seeing a white Jeep with a black soft top. He also gave a description of a white male he saw at the same time and gave an approximate height, weight and age, Wilzbach said, all remarkably similar to Barrall's identifiers.

A sketch of the suspect and a photo of the suspect vehicle were released to media Tuesday. Within hours, police were interviewing Barrall, who allegedly admitted to the crime.

According to statements he allegedly made to police, after Cavaletto was struck with the vehicle, the 220-pound Barrall, wearing steel-toed boots, allegedly got out of his Jeep, dragged Cavaletto some 40 yards into the woods and kicked her in the head several times before sexually assaulting her.

He then walked back to his Jeep, the statement said, and drove back to his residence in Centralia, a drive that would take about 10 minutes.

Later, Barrall allegedly told police, he returned to the scene, pulled Cavaletto into a sitting position from behind, then reached around to stab her multiple times in the chest and neck with a knife.

None of the victim's injuries appeared to be post mortem, indicating all the injuries were inflicted while Cavaletto was still alive, the probable cause statement said.

When Centralia police detectives followed up on a lead and visited Barrall at his house on Spruce Drive, they noted what appeared to be a fresh dent on his Jeep. They also saw a rubber mallet and white paint, which Barrall explained he was using to do "some body work" on the vehicle.

Police said Barrall was matter-of-fact in making his statements and showed no emotion or remorse, although he allegedly indicated he should go to prison for murder.

Wilzbach credited law enforcement and help from the public for Barrall's swift arrest.

"I would describe as utterly amazing the work done on this investigation. I have always held the state police and Marion County law enforcement in high regard, but this has raised it exponentially," he said. "To go from Saturday with no leads to an arrest Tuesday night with quite substantial evidence is truly a credit to all law enforcement involved, particularly Lt. Tom Oliverio (of Illinois State Police Zone 7 Investigations) who primarily led the investigation."

Cavaletto and her husband, John, a Centralia firefighter, had two children. She was a teacher at Jordan School in Centralia and was the daughter-in-law of state representative candidate John Cavaletto, Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Trinity Lutheran Church in Centralia.

Barrall's preliminary hearing date is set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 13.

beckymalk@gmail.com

927-5633