The Henry County Grand Jury indicted 18 persons on March 25th after cases were presented by Prosecuting Attorney Gwen Howe Gebers, including 65 year old William F. Mohr of Edwardsville, Illinois in connection with the fatal Wellington Hotel fire in downtown Napoleon from January 1992.
William F. Mohr was indicted on 3 counts of Aggravated Murder, and three other counts of Murder. It’s alleged Mohr set the fire at the Wellington Hotel, in which 3 people lost their lives: 6 year old Roger Butts, 28 year old Kevin Brown, and 20 year old Richard Rhoads- all of Napoleon.
Mohr was the original suspect in the case back in 1992, but the murder trial was cancelled in 1993. The cold case investigation by Napoleon Police has included evidence gathered at the time of the fire, along with interviews.
William F. Mohr has been held in a Madison County Illinois jail since his arrest about a week ago. He is scheduled to be brought back to Henry County to face the new murder charges.