The CEO of a technology company pleaded not guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder charges in the December shooting death of a standout college basketball player.
A DuPage County judge ordered 51-year-old Jeffrey Keller to be held without bail Friday in connection with the Dec. 22 murder of the former University of Maine basketball player Nathan Fox.
Prosecutors allege the married father of four shot Fox to death in a jealous rage in a Chicago suburb because he believed the 37-year-old was romantically involved with a woman he was interested in. They said the woman, identified as "Katie," worked with Fox previously but didn't know him very well.
Prosecutors said Keller was obsessed with “Katie” and the idea that Fox was involved with her and that he followed Fox for days before killing him. Despite owning four vehicles, authorities said Keller rented a black SUV, drove to Fox's house and fatally shot him in his driveway before taking off.
Fox's girlfriend was in the home making dinner at the time of the shooting, a prosecutor said.
Police said they have a recorded conversation between Keller and a friend in which he confessed to the crime.
Keller is the CEO of 8to18 Inc. and owns a home valued at more than $1 million, officials said in court. He is due back in court on March 3.
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If convicted, Keller faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
