Rock Falls man convicted of murder and arson wants new trial

WHITESIDE Co., Ill. (KWQC) – A Rock Falls man convicted last month of arson that killed three people in 2020 is seeking a retrial.

On August 16, Whiteside County Assistant Public Defender Dana McCormick filed a motion for a retrial on behalf of 44-year-old Steven Coleman.

In July, a Whiteside County jury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated arson and one count of residential arson.

Prosecutors argued in court that Coleman set a fire at the Western Apartments in Sterling in June 2020 after a drug deal went wrong. Celina Serrano, 13, Shyla Walker, 8, and Carrie A. Hose, 49, died in the blaze.

Coleman will be sentenced on October 17.

In his motion for a retrial, McCormick wrote that the prosecution had failed to prove the facts beyond a reasonable doubt.

She also wrote that Coleman felt she did not have enough time to prepare for the trial.

According to court documents, a hearing on the motion will be held at 9 a.m. Monday.

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