PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD) — New details have been released regarding the case of a man convicted earlier this month of killing a woman and then burning her house.
Matthew Null, 41, was found guilty on May 12 in Tazewell County Circuit Court in connection with the April 10, 2021, fire in the 200 block of Gunion Avenue in Pekin. Found inside the burning home was Kailey Windish, who was on a bed which had been partially burned.
Autopsy results indicated Windish had died before the fire. The fire, investigators believed at the time, was not accidental. An examination of her cell phone indicated several calls from Null that day.
Also, according to court records, Null’s phone was found to have been at the Windish house from roughly 5:45 a.m. until about 12:09 p.m. that day. The woman’s father told police several times including a credit card were missing from the home, according to court records.
An online purchase had been made the following day from Bass Pro/Cabela. A phone linked to Null was used to make the purchase and the item was shipped to an address linked to Null, according to court records.
Null was found guilty after a three-day trial in Tazewell County Circuit Court on charges of murder, aggravated arson, possession of stolen firearms and other lesser counts.
When he’s sentenced on June 29, he faces at least 20 years and possibly decades more in prison.
