Former Illini Lovelace Pleads Not Guilty In Murder Trial

Former prosecutor and all-star Illini athlete, Curtis Lovelace has entered a not guilty plea in connection with the 2006 death of his wife.

Cass County Circuit Judge Robert Hardwick is presiding over the case, and the trial is expected to begin on January 26, 2015 in Adams County Court.  Lovelace is being represented by Springfield attorneys James Elmore and Jeff Page.

Lovelace, 45, a former Quincy school board member was indicted last month in Adams County on a first-degree murder charge related to the Valentine's Day 2006 death of Cory Lovelace, 38, in the family's Quincy home.

Her death had remained an open case because an autopsy and coroner's jury at the time failed to pinpoint what killed of the mother of four. Special Prosecutor, Ed Parkinson has said Curtis Lovelace had told authorities after his wife's death she had been ill.

But Quincy Police Chief Rob Copley said the case took a dramatic turn late last year when a new detective dusted off the file and sought opinions from two outside pathologists, each of whom concluded that Cory Lovelace had been suffocated.

Curtis Lovelace remains jailed in lieu of $5 million bond, and is expected to appear in court again on November 26th.