Full Notification

The following individual was charged today in Madison County Circuit Court with a felony charge of ABUSE OF A CORPSE:

WILLIE M. JENKINS JR.
MALE
AGE: 34
101 WEST DRIVE
COTTAGE HILLS, ILLINOIS

The charges stem from a missing person report taken by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, October 21, 2014. The missing person was identified as:
ADAM J. SNEED
MALE
AGE: 28
1413 6TH STREET
COTTAGE HILLS, ILLINOIS

A family member told sheriff’s deputies that Sneed had not been to work, or seen by his friends or family, since Friday, October 17, 2014. Later the same day the sheriff’s office received information from the St. Louis City Police Department and St. Louis City Medical Examiner’s Office that Sneed was found deceased in St. Louis City on Saturday, October 18, 2014.

St. Louis City Investigators told Madison County Sheriff’s Office Investigators that Sneed was found deceased in an alley, in the 2200 block of Angelica, on Saturday, October 18, 2014, at approximately 12:00 p.m.. A resident in the area reportedly called police after witnessing a subject, who was driving a silver or gold van, place the body in the alley and drive away. No identifiers were found on the body or known at the time of the initial recovery. The body was identified through fingerprint analysis on Tuesday, October 21, 2014. An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma or obvious evidence of foul play.

Madison County Sheriff’s Investigators linked Sneed to Jenkins and determined Jenkins was the last known person to be with Sneed. Investigators determined Jenkins owned a van like the one reportedly seen by the witness at the scene. Sheriff’s investigators located and processed the van at Jenkin’s home during the early afternoon hours of Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

Jenkins was ultimately located at his home by a sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday, October 22, 2014, at approximately 4:13 p.m. The deputy arrested Jenkins on an outstanding warrant issued out of the Wood River Police Department, for Disorderly Conduct. Jenkins was transported to the Madison County Jail where he was held pending a formal review of facts by the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Evidence developed by sheriff’s investigators revealed Jenkins was in fact the subject who dumped Sneed’s body in the St. Louis City alley. The exact cause of death in this case is unknown at this point, but evidence developed during the investigation indicates narcotic use may have played a part in Sneed’s death.

The felony warrant and information were signed by the Honorable Judge Richard Tognarelli. Bond was set at $50,000.00. Jenkins remains in the custody of the Madison County Jail.