Two men arrested in Anna murder case

Funeral services are planned Thursday, today, for an Anna man whose death has led to murder charges being filed against two Union County men.

Services for James H. "Jimmy" Morrison, 46, of Anna, are planned at 11 a.m. today at Rendleman & Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. Burial will be in the Busby Cemetery in Goreville.

Mr. Morrison died at 4 a.m. Saturday, April 12, at Union County Hospital in Anna.

Union County State's Attorney Tyler R. Edmonds reported that Travis D. Turner, 25, of 122 Southeast Front St. in Dongola, and Jessie L. Bell, 34, of 214 Monroe St. in Anna, each face charges of first degree murder in connection with the death of Mr. Morrison.

Edmonds said the charges result from an investigation conducted by the Anna Police Department and the Illinois State Police in connection with Mr. Morrison's death early last Saturday morning.

Mr. Morrison was found on the ground outside his Douglas Street residence in Anna at approximately 3 a.m. Saturday. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Union County Hospital.

Turner is alleged to have struck Mr. Morrison with a piece of lumber.

Bell is alleged to have struck Mr. Morrison repeatedly about the head with his fists.

Both defendants were set to make their first appearance in Union County Circuit Court in Jonesboro at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, in front of Presiding Judge Mark Boie.

Turner was being held in the Jackson County Jail in Murphysboro on $1 million bond. 

Bell was being held in the Jackson County Jail without bond. He was apprehended last Saturday afternoon in Johnson County by the Illinois State Police. 

The Anna Police Department, Illinois State Police and the Union County coroner's office were investigating the incident with assistance from the Union County Sheriff's Office.