Tarr murder trial moving forward

HILLSBORO — After over two years of ongoing pretrial hearings and standstills, the murder trial of Robert Tarr from a 2021 murder in Farmersville is making some progress.

Court filings in Montgomery County Circuit Court last week revealed subpoenas being filed for delivery to key witnesses in the murder trial of Tarr, 50, of Collinsville. Among these witnesses include officials with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Coroner Randy Leetham, four forensic scientists, relatives of Tarr, and other key witnesses.

In a pre-trial hearing before Circuit Judge Christopher Matoush on Wednesday, Dec. 20, Tarr appeared with legal counsel Daniel L. Fultz. Fultz and Montgomery County State’s Attorney Andrew Affrunti hashed out outstanding discovering issues surrounding the trial.

Among these issues related to issues with laptop discovery, the physical transfer of phones to defense expert(s), and updating the laptop with the most up-to-date discovery.

Tarr faces two charges of first-degree murder and two charges of attempted murder.

The case alleges that in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day 2021, Tarr broke into Smith’s Farmersville residence at 104 Nobbie St. Reeves, an ex-girlfriend of Tarr’s, was found deceased by law enforcement with a fatal shot to the head. Smith was found in critical condition, also with a headshot. Over two years later, Smith continues a long path to recovery. Reeves and Smith were on a date the night before the shooting.

Court records in Madison County reflect a timeline of domestic violence against Reeves by Tarr before their breakup.

Tarr faces additional charges relating to murder-for-hire scheme, jail security system tampering

Tarr also faces two charges that were brought up in 2022 for an alleged murder-for-hire scheme relating to hiring someone to track down and kill Reeves.

Tarr will appear in court on all charges relating to the shooting on January 5 at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Matoush. A jury trial is currently set for January 22 to February 2, 2024.

Unrelated to the case, Tarr also faces charges of allegedly tampering with the security system while in detention at the Montgomery County Jail. That charge will be heard in a January 18 pretrial hearing. He remains locked up at the Montgomery County Jail without bond after Matoush determined in an October 22 hearing that releasing Tarr would present a clear and present danger to the community.

For more Illinois news, follow Jake Leonard on Twitter @JakeLeonardJRN and Heartland Newsfeed @HLNF_Bulletin on Twitter.

Additionally, you can follow Heartland Newsfeed on Facebook and Reddit among other platforms. You can now follow our news updates on Telegram and MeWe.

Support independent journalism. Become a patron on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. There are other donor options as well.

Get the latest news updates on our radio network via Spreaker, TuneIn, and other platforms.

Jake Leonard

Website | + posts

Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

• Jake Leonard

  https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/admin/

  SPORTS BRIEF: September 30, 2024
• Jake Leonard

  https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/admin/

  Nokomis Chamber holds September meeting
• Jake Leonard

  https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/admin/

  SPORTS BRIEF: August 26, 2024
• Jake Leonard

  https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/admin/

  Nokomis woman arrested for shoplifting, assault