Steidl Case Chronology
July 6, 1986: Firemen find the bodies of Karen and Dyke Rhoads in their burning home in Paris, Illinois.
September 21, 1986; Darrell Harrington, an alcoholic with two convictions for writing bad checks, accuses Gordon R. (Randy) Steidl and Herbert R. Whitlock of the murders.
February 16, 1987: Deborah Reinbolt, an alcoholic and drug addict, tells police she was present when Gordon R. (Randy) Steidl and Herbert R. Whitlock committed the murders; she gives police a knife with a 5-inch blade, purportedly the murder weapon.
February 19, 1987: Paris police arrest Steidl and Whitlock.
March 10, 1987: Edgar County grand jury returns indictments charging Steidl and Whitlock with both murders.
May 22, 1987: Jury finds Whitlock guilty of the murder of Karen Rhoads, but acquits him of the murder of Dyke Rhoads. He is sentenced to life in prison.
July 1987: Jury finds Steidl guilty of both murders.
August 12, 1987: Steidl sentenced to death.
September 28, 1988: Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court affirms Whitlock’s conviction and sentence. People v. Whitlock, 174 Ill. App. 3d 749 (1988).
November 21, 1988: Harrington recants his trial testimony in a statement before a court reporter.
January 13, 1989: Reinbolt recants her trial testimony in a signed affidavit.
December 1989: Reinbolt and Harrington recant their recantations at a hearing before Judge Komada.
January 24, 1991: Illinois Supreme Court affirms Steidl’s conviction and death sentence. People v. Steidl, 142 Ill. 2d 204 (1991).
October 25, 1995: Without an evidentiary hearing, Judge Komada denies Steidl’s petition for post-conviction relief.
February 17-18, 1996 Reinbolt recants her trial testimony for the second time in a four hour, videotaped statement.
February 23, 1996: Reinbolt retracts her second recantation in an audiotaped statement to the Edgar County State’s Attorney.
December 11, 1996: On appeal of the denial of Steidl's post-conviction petition, the Illinois Supreme Court denies Steidl's request for a new trial, but grants a new sentencing hearing on the ground that his attorney provided ineffective assistance at the sentencing phase of the trial by failing to present evidence in mitigation.
February 18, 1999: Steidl resentenced to life in prison after prosecutors agree not to pursue the death penalty.
December 5, 2000: Fourth District Appellate Court denies Steidl a new trial.
April 4, 2001: Illinois Supreme Court denies the Petition for Leave to Appeal.
June 17, 2003: Judge Michael P. McCuskey, of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, orders a new trial for Steidl. Steidl v. Walls, 267 F. Supp. 2d 919 (2003).
March 25, 2004: After an intensive review of the case, Attorney General Lisa Madigan declines to appeal McCuskey’s decision.
May 28, 2004: All charges against Steidl dropped and hours later he is released from the Danville Correctitonal Center.
January 8, 2008: All charges against Steidl's codefendent Herb Whitlock are dropped and he is released from an Illinois prison.
