Chester man given 30 years for 2018 murder

A Chester, Illinois, man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a murder in Union County, Illinois, in September 2018, Union County Sheriff Scott Harvel announced Monday.

In addition to being sentenced for his first-degree murder conviction, William P. Wasmund, 49, will also serve a three-year mandatory supervised release, according to a news release from the Union County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Wasmund was found guilty in September after a four-day jury trial. He was arrested in February by Union County authorities following an investigation into the death of Jeffery Spicer, 53, of Murphysboro, Illinois. Spicer was found dead at a shed along the highway at 7635 State Route 3 in rural Union County on Sept. 16, 2018.

Evidence presented at trial showed Wasmund set a shotgun with a trigger set to fire when the door of a shed opened, knowing doing so created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to anyone opening the door of the shed.

The case was investigated by the Union County Sheriff’s Department with assistance from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Illinois State Police, Carbondale Police/Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Bomb Squad and the Union County Coroner’s Office.