Stabbing suspects appear in court
GENEVA – All four of the St. Charles men charged in connection with last month’s fatal stabbing appeared in court Friday, when they were assigned public defenders and another court date.
Brothers Arthur Manning, 57, and Guy Manning, 51, along with Willie Wimberly, 55, each are facing three counts of first-degree murder stemming from the Sept. 21 stabbing of 28-year-old Naromi Mannery.
Mannery, who court records show lived in an Oak Street apartment, was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of Sept. 22, the result of a stab wound to the chest.
Darren Barnett, 42, is charged with obstruction of justice. He tried to clean up blood before police arrived at the scene, Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Sams said.
At a Friday morning status hearing before Circuit Judge Timothy Sheldon, all four men confirmed they lived at 920 W. Main St. in St. Charles – where police believe the stabbing took place – and were assigned public defenders.
Brenda Willett and Walter Werderich of the Kane County Public Defender’s Office asked Sheldon to continue the cases until Oct. 23. The judge granted the continuance, as well as separate requests from Arthur Manning and Wimberly to make a phone call.
All four men remained in jail Friday, according to a jail employee. The Mannings and Wimberly are each being held on $1 million bail, and Barnett’s bail is $30,000.
No new information – such as a possible motive or the relationship between the suspects and victim – was released during Friday’s four separate and brief hearings. None of the four men charged have entered a plea.
Sams said late last month that Mannery was at the 920 W. Main St. residence the night of the stabbing.
That residence is owned by Windy City Amusements Inc., a company that police previously said all four of the men worked for.
Sams said a disagreement caused Wimberly to strike Mannery before Guy Manning threw a chair at him. Arthur Manning then stabbed Mannery in the chest, back and right arm, Sams said. Police said they believe Mannery stumbled down and across West Main Street, leaving a trail of blood along the way.
Police found Mannery lying on a sidewalk in the 1000 Block of West Main Street, after responding to a 911 call made shortly before midnight Sept. 21 by a customer from the nearby Mobil gas station.