Samson R. Shelton a Freeburg Illinois High Schoolteacher charged with two counts of tried first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping, recently released on an $80,000 bail bound. Shelton had been living at home, under electronic monitoring, until, a 911 call made by his mother, Susan Shelton, on May 7, after she found her son unresponsive on the floor of his room from an obvious overdose.

While officers tried to revive Shelton, he allegedly became combative, kicking, spitting, and punching officers who subdued Shelton using a Taser. Shelton then taken to a nearby hospital for a medical and psych evaluation. After given medical clearance Shelton now lives in the St. Clair County Jail, without bail.

As a review for those unfamiliar with this story, Ashley Reeves disappeared on Thursday evening April 27, 2006, around 3:30 in the afternoon. The teen had told her parents she was going to a job interview when she left the family home. Her parents reported her missing when she failed to return home by her 10 p.m. curfew. The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department found Ashley’s car around midnight the same night at a local park, there was no sign of the teen and she was not answering her cell phone.

The teenager’s cell phone bill had arrived in the mail that day and Ashley’s mom immediately noticed an unfamiliar number that appeared often, so she dialed the number and Sam Shelton answered the phone. When questioned by the young woman’s mom he denied knowing anything about her disappearance or about why she would have his number.

Sam Shelton showed up for school the next morning as if nothing had happened, and Freeburg High Schoolteachers and students were stunned when Sam Shelton was taken in for questioning about Ashley Reeves disappearance. During the questioning, police taped the complete session; the twenty six-year-old man denies knowing anything about the teen’s disappearance for several hours, and then finally begins crying as he admits everything!

Shelton says while talking to the teen in his car he decided to end the relationship. Then he tried to drag the teen out of his car by placing her in a chokehold. While pulling her out Sam says, he hears a snap, a loud snap. He fears he may have broken her neck after Ashley goes limp in his arms. Then he panics and places his hat over her face so he does not have to see her looking at him. When he leaves her body in a heavily wooded area, he strangled her with a belt to make it look like it happened there.

Sam Shelton then takes officers to Citizens Park to show them where he dumped her. Almost thirty hours after her parents reported her missing the teacher leads deputies to the teen’s body in Citizens Park in Belleville Illinois. Officers find a barely alive badly injured Ashley and stunned work quickly to get her medical help. When asked if he considered taking her to a hospital he says yes but he thought that if he did take her to a hospital they would point the finger at him if she died. Ashley is making a remarkable recovery and recently began driving again! Ashley still faces one of the hardest parts of her recovery in the future, the trial of Samson R. Shelton, the man who tried to kill her and left her for dead.

Sam followed his mother’s example by becoming a teacher. Susan Shelton is a retired teacher, in her 60’s and responsible for raising two sons as a singe mother. Unlike Sam’s father who has given up on his son’s by leaving years ago, Sam’s Mother vows to stand by her son no matter what the outcome. Mother’s do not stop loving a child because they made a bad choice in life.