Man charged with murder in Joliet bartender’s death

A Coal City man is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the death of a Joliet bartender who was found shot in Kankakee County several days after she was reported missing.

The upgraded charges against Jeremy Boshears, 32, were announced Saturday evening by the Will County state’s attorney’s office.

Boshears was initially charged by Kankakee County officials on Friday with a felony count of concealing a homicidal death in connection with the disappearance of Kaitlyn Kearns, according to a statement from the Will County sheriff’s office. He was arrested Friday morning.

Detectives believe that 24-year-old Kearns met Boshears about four weeks ago while working at Woody’s Bar, 1005 E. Washington St. in Joliet, and that they had been dating for the past two weeks, the sheriff’s office said.

Kearns was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head on Thursday after an overnight search in a rural area of Kankakee County, the sheriff’s office said. Her body was found in the back of her 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee in a pole barn located on private property in Aroma Park Township.

Investigators “do not believe that the property owner was involved or had knowledge of the concealment,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Kearns, of Mokena, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office. Her father had reported her missing about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Kearns was last seen about 1:30 a.m. Monday leaving her job at Woody’s Bar, 1005 E. Washington St. in Joliet, the sheriff’s office said. She was last seen driving east on Washington Street in her Jeep.

The state’s attorney’s office said investigators believe Boshears fatally shot Kearns at some point on Monday.

On Friday, Boshears was ordered held in lieu of posting $25,000 bond at the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee County on Friday, the sheriff’s office said.

On Saturday, a Will County judge reviewed the murder charges and signed an arrest warrant that set Boshear’s bail at $10 million, the state’s attorney’s office said. A court date has not yet been scheduled.

The Kankakee County state’s attorney has agreed to drop their charge against Boshears, so that a similar charge can be brought by Will County as part of the overall prosecution of the case, authorities said.