Dancer's Body Dumped Near Jefferson Street, Murder Trial To Begin

JOLIET, IL — After being captured in his native Fayetteville, North Carolina and returned to the Will County Jail five years and two weeks ago, Joliet first-degree murder defendant Deointae Shawnrico McMillian is finally ready to stand trial for the Nov. 10, 2018, homicide of Schaumburg dancer Danica Shernay Ford, 22.

McMillian's jury trial will begin next Tuesday, on Jan. 2, at the Will County Courthouse in Courtroom 503 of Judge Carmen Goodman.

Around 9 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2018, Will County Sheriff's investigators recovered Ford's body from a shallow grave in Joliet Township near West Jefferson Street and Houbolt Road.

A native of Fayetteville, N.C., McMillian was extradited back to Will County in December 2018 to face charges of murder and concealing a death.

According to the criminal complaint, McMillian "strangled Danica Ford, thereby causing the death of Danica Ford" on Nov. 10, 2018.

Ford was a native of Concord, North Carolina, and her obituary noted that she graduated in 2015 from Concord High School.

"While in high school, Danica played basketball, volleyball, and was part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Ministry," her obituary noted. "After high school, Danica attended Johnson and Wales University at Charlotte where she played the positions of point guard and shooting guard on the women's basketball team. Danica also worked throughout her high school and college careers in the restaurant industry as a hostess and later became a waitress. She was known for her vibrant personality."

Joliet Patch previously reported that the Illinois Homicide Investigators Association presented the Will County Sheriff's Investigations Unit with the "Award of Excellence" for solving the complex murder case of the out-of-town victim, the sheriff's office announced in October 2019.

"The homicide investigation led over two dozen deputies and detectives to Chicago, South Chicago Heights, South Holland, Harvey, Dolton, Schaumburg, and eventually to North Carolina, where they located the offender, Deiontae McMillian. He was extradited to Illinois and was charged with concealment of a homicidal death and three counts of first-degree murder," Will County announced on Facebook in October 2019.

Related Joliet Patch coverage over the years:

Jefferson St. Homicide: Will Co. Honored For N.C. Arrest

Dancer Didn't Die In Joliet Murder Defendant's Lawyer Argues

Jefferson St. Body Dump Defendant Appears In Court