Former School Bus Driver Christian Shepherd Found Guilty in Second Murder for Hire Plot

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced a jury recently found Christian Shepherd, 44, of Ottawa, guilty of four counts of Solicitation of Murder for Hire (a Class X felony), in the second case against Shepherd involving murder-to-hire plots in which he attempted to hire fellow inmates to murder a victim he was charged with sexually assaulting, as well as others. Circuit Judge David Carlson presided over both trials.

In May 2010, Shepherd, a former school bus driver, was in custody on a charge of criminal sexual assault when he attempted to hire another inmate to murder the victim he was charged with sexually assaulting, the victim’s mother, and two detectives. Shepherd gave the inmate a map to the residence of two of his intended victims, as well as a taunting statement for him to read to one of the intended victims.

The inmate Shepherd purported to hire, however, turned the documents over to police and ultimately wore a wire, which allowed the police to record Shepherd on tape planning the murders. Shepherd then hired a second inmate to kill the initial potential victims, as well as the first hitman. That inmate also informed police about Shepherd’s plans.

Earlier this year, Shepherd was sentenced to 76 years in prison for Solicitation of Murder for Hire and Solicitation of Murder, both Class X felonies, in the case involving the first inmate he attempted to hire as a hitman.

A date of October 5 has been set for the sentencing in this case. The sentencing range is 20-to-40 years in prison for each of the four counts.