$1M bond for woman charged in murder of Elgin teen

Bond was set at $1 million Wednesday for a northwest suburban woman charged with the murder of an Elgin teen who was struck by a car and beaten with baseball bats on Sunday.

Timera D. Branch, 33, of the 200 block of Monarch Drive in Streamwood was charged Tuesday of two counts of first-degree murder for the death of 17-year-old John W. Keyes, according to a release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office.

Branch intentionally struck Keyes with a car, crushing his body against a building, prosecutors allege.

Streamwood police were called to the Burnham Wing Schoolhouse Apartments at 260 Center Street, about 4:07 p.m. Sunday, where they found Keyes lying unresponsive in the parking lot. He was taken to Sherman Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Elgin Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Swoboda said both the car and Branch were located a short distance away.

A number of witnesses reported the incident might have been premeditated, telling police the car jumped a curb to hit Keyes as he stood near the side of the building, and that afterward, the car's occupants got out and beat him with bats before fleeing.

Elgin Detective Scott St. John said investigators received similar reports, but he could not confirm the validity of those claims.

"Some of that information might be accurate, but some of it obviously could just be word of mouth," he said. "We're still interviewing all the people that we can about the circumstances leading up to and after the young man was dead."

Associate Judge T. Clint Hull set the $1 million bond for Branch on Wednesday morning, according to the release. Her next court appearance was set for 9 a.m. on Nov. 19 in front of Circuit Judge Thomas Mueller in Courtroom 313 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

If convicted, she faces up to 60 years in prison.