The Murders of Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover

The Nightmare on Hickory Street

Four Joliet Murder Suspects
Massaro, Miner, McKee and Landerman. Police Mug Shots

On Jan. 9, 2014, Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins were invited to a home on North Hickory Street in Joliet, Illinois where Alisa Massaro, Bethany McKee, Joshua Miner and Adam Landerman were having a party. Glover and Rankins were killed and robbed of $120.

Here are the fact surrounding the double-murder case.

Adam Landerman Found Guilty

June 15, 2015 - The fourth defendant charged with luring two Black men to a house in Joliet, Illinois to rob and murder them has been found guilty. Adam Landerman, son of a Joliet police officer, was found guilty of the 2013 deaths of Terrance Ranking and Eric Glover.

Testimony at his jury trial showed that Landerman strangled Glover while co-defendant Joshua Miner strangled Rankins. Landerman admitted to police that he took part in the plan to rob the two alleged marijuana dealers.

Joshua Minor was the mastermind behind the plan to rob the two men. Landerman told police that he told Minor that he did not want to be involved in the robbery, but if a scuffle ensued, he would have Minor's back.

When sentenced, Landerman will face a mandatory life sentence. Minor and Bethany McKee both received life sentences after being found guilty last year in bench trials.

The fourth defendant, Alisa Massaro, received a 10-year sentence in a plea deal in which she agreed to testify against the others. However, she only testified in McKee's trial. The crime took place at Massaro's home.

Joshua Minor Found Guilty

Oct. 8, 2014 - A judge has found another defendant guilty in the case known as the Nightmare on Hickory Street. Joshua Miner was found guilty of the murders of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins after he declined a trial by jury.

Will County Judge Gerald Kinney found Minor guilty of six counts of first-degree murder.

"The evidence presented at trial leaves little, if any, doubt that this defendant caused the death of Terrance Rankins," Judge Kinney said. "The defendant admits that he planned to rob the individuals."

He faces a mandatory life sentence.

Joshua Miner Waves Jury Trial

Sept. 22, 2014 - The alleged mastermind of a plot to lure two men to a party at a home in Joliet, Illinois so that they could be killed and robbed is facing a bench trial this week for the murders of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins.

As jury selection was about to begin Monday, Joshua Miner waved his right to a trial by jury and is being tried before the same judge that found co-defendant Bethany McKee guilty in an earlier bench trial.

In early testimony, police officers said that when they arrived at the scene, Miner told them he killed one of the victims and co-defendant Adam Landerman killed the other.

Alisa Massaro, who accepted a plea deal for a lesser charge, is expected to testify in Miner's trial, which is expected to last one week.

Bethany McKee Guilty of Murder

Aug. 29, 2014 - A 20-year-old Illinois woman has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for her part in the deaths of two 22-year-old Black men. Will County Judge Gerald Kinney found Bethany McKee guilty in the deaths of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins in a house in Joliet.

Judge Kinney said McKee played a key role in luring the two men to the house so that they could be killed and robbed. Closing arguments were presented in McKee's bench trial on August 12. Judge Kinney said at the time he would issue a verdict on Aug. 29.

"A review of those facts shows a stunning lack of respect for human life as well as a stunning lack of concern for the consequences of taking two human lives," Kinney said.

In this ruling, Kinney said McKee had many opportunities to back out of the plot, but instead talked with co-defendants about getting rid of the bodies and spent her share of the money stolen from the victims.

The defense had argued that McKee wasn't in the room when the two were killed. Defense attorney Chuck Bretz said McKee made poor decisions after the murders, but she was not guilty of murder.

Two other defendants - Joshua Miner, 26, and Adam Landerman, 21 - still face trial. They are accused of actually strangling the two men. A fourth defendant, Alisa Massaro, pleaded guilty to lesser charges after agreeing to testify against the others.

When McKee is sentenced Oct. 16, she will face a mandatory life-without-parole sentence under Illinois law.

Trial Set for Bethany McKee

Aug. 5, 2014 - Trial will begin next week for 20-year-old Bethany McKee, one of four suspects accused of the murder and robbery of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins, who were killed in Joliet, Illinois last year.

McKee was arrested along with Joshua Miner, 26, Adam Landerman, 21, and Alisa Massaro, 22, for the murders of the two Black men, which took place at Massaro's home.

McKee claims she left the party before the murders took place and that Glover and Rankins were still alive when she left.

Alisa Massaro pleaded guilty in May to robbery and concealment of a homicide in a deal that gave her a 10-year sentence. She is expected to testify in McKee's trial next week.

Miner's Statements Ruled Admissible

June 19, 2014 - Statements made to police by one of the four defendants, accused of luring two 22-year-old Black men to a home where they were killed and robbed, can be used against him in his trial. A judge has ruled that statements given to police by Joshua Miner, one of the defendants charged with the murders of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins are admissible and can be used against him in court.

Miner, Adam Landerman, 20; Bethany McKee, 19; and Alisa Massaro, 20; are accused of alluring Glover and Rankins - both 22 - to Massaro's house where they were killed and robbed of money and drugs.

Lea Norbut, Miner's attorney, had argued that Miner, 25, should have been provided with an attorney after he inquired about one during the interviews with investigators.

Prosecutor John Connor argued, and the judge agreed, that Miner was informed of his right to have an attorney and he waived that right and spoke to police willingly.

Massaro took a plea deal and was sentenced to 10 years in May. McKee's trial is scheduled to begin July 21.

Woman Gets 10 Years in Double Murder Plea Deal

May 23, 2014 - A 20-year-old Illinois woman has been given a 10-year prison sentence to reduced charges in a double homicide case in exchange for her testimony against her three co-defendants. Alissa Massaro pleaded guilty to four felony charges in connection with the deaths of Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover in 2013.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and two counts of concealment of a homicide.

Prosecutors said that Massaro and her three co-defendants - Joshua Miner, 25; Adam Landerman, 20; and Bethany McKee, 19 - lured the victims to Massaro's house in January 2013. Rankins and Glover, both 22 years old, were strangled and they were robbed of the money and drugs found on their dead bodies.

Planned to Dismember Bodies

In previous statements, prosecutors said that Massaro and Miner callously played video games and partied after the murders. Police reports also revealed that they planned to dismember the victims' bodies before disposing of them.

Although the murders took place at Massaro's home, 40 miles southwest of Chicago in Joliet, prosecutor Dan Walsh told the court that the actual killings took place outside of Massaro's presence. Walsh did say that Massaro did not alter authorities or her father about the crime.

Credit for Time Served

Technically, Massaro will serve two consecutive five-year sentences on the robbery charges and serve two consecutive three-year sentences for concealing the crimes concurrently with the robbery sentences.

She will be given credit for the 16 months she served in jail awaiting trial.

George Lenard, Massaro's attorney, said her plea deal was based on the evidence in the case and her willingness to testify against the others.

"If the others go to trial, and if she is called as a witness, she will testify truthfully," Lenard told reporters.

Plea Deal Surprised Other Defendants

Miner, Landerman, and McKee all still face first-degree murder charges. In a hearing last week, a prosecution motion to have each of them tried separately was granted by Judge Gerald Kinney.

According to news reports, Massaro's plea deal came as a surprise to the other defendants, especially 19-year-old McKee, who was seen crying when she learned of the deal.

Bill McKee, her father, said the deal was a shock because his daughter has not been approached about a plea bargain even though, he said, he was not in the house at the time of the murders.

McKee Told Her Father

McKee said his daughter left the Massaro's home before the slayings and she told him that Rankins and Glover were still alive when she left.

When she left the house, she called her father and told him about the situation and it was McKee that called the police. McKee was arrested later at her Shorewood home, while the other three were arrested at the scene, McKee said.

Police reports at the time said the three were still partying while the two victims were lying dead in the North Hickory Street home.

Miner to Be Tried First

"I think it's sad," Bill McKee told reporters. "The sentence she got, it's reprehensible."

After winning the motion to try the three remaining defendants separately, prosecutors decided to put Miner on trial first. No date has been set for his trial.

The three defendants are scheduled for another hearing on June 16.

Sources

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Montaldo, Charles. "The Murders of Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/the-murders-of-terrance-rankins-and-eric-glover-971129. Montaldo, Charles. (2023, April 5). The Murders of Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-murders-of-terrance-rankins-and-eric-glover-971129 Montaldo, Charles. "The Murders of Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-murders-of-terrance-rankins-and-eric-glover-971129 (accessed March 19, 2024).