A Galesburg woman found dead in her Prairie Street apartment in April was disabled and could not walk.
An autopsy later showed that Tricia Nichols, 49, died of manual strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Last month, Gerald E. Fry Jr., 56, was arrested after being indicted by a Knox County grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder.
Nichols and Fry had been in a relationship for eight years at the time of her death, and they lived together in the apartment. Fry had also been employed with the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services to care for Nichols as recently as November of last year.
Police reports obtained by TSPR show Nichols was found lying on her back on the tile floor of the apartment at 191 N. Prairie St. with her head propped on a mattress. That’s after police received a report of an unresponsive female around 10:30 p.m. on April 15.
But when police arrived, livor mortis had already set in on Nichols’ neck and face and her body was cold to the touch, indicating she had been dead for several hours. Nichols also had dried blood in her ears and multiple bruises on her body.
Police observed that parts of the apartment appeared to have been recently cleaned, with mopping streaks still visible on the tile floor. In a dumpster behind the apartment building, police found a trash bag containing soiled cleaning wipes, a used rubber glove, and a large clump of hair.
Fry told police Nichols’ injuries were from recently falling down the stairs at the apartment building and falling out of her wheelchair in the apartment. Fry also claimed he performed CPR on Nichols, but the forensic pathologist who performed Nichols’ autopsy said there was no evidence of that.
Fry pleaded not guilty and has requested a jury trial. He remains in custody at the Knox County jail. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 4.
