Witness In Joliet's Body Shop Murders 'Voluntarily Moves To Revoke Her Pretrial Release': Judge Gavlin

JOLIET, IL — Ten years after being compelled to testify in Joliet's body shop murders of Michael Oram, 48, and Jamie Wills, 43, Michelle Rossi's problems with Will County's criminal justice system continue to mount. The 50-year-old Joliet woman from the 300 block of Schorie Avenue is not even contesting this week's petition to deny her pretrial release under the SAFE-T-Act.

As a result, Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin will keep Rossi in the Will County Jail for an indefinite amount of time following Rossi's latest arrest last Friday, by the Will County Sheriff's Office following a violent confrontation with two of the sheriff's deputies.

Court files show that Rossi failed to appear in Will County court on Jan. 22 for her pending 2025 criminal case, so a warrant was issued for her arrest. Nine days later, she attacked Will County's sheriff's deputies during a Joliet traffic stop, the court files indicate.

According to the petition to deny pretrial release for Rossi, Will County Sheriff's deputy Kyle Bataoel pulled over a gray 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck with expired registration near South Larkin Avenue and McDonough Street on Jan. 31. The driver, Allen Williams, advised the deputy that he knew about the expired registration.

The sheriff's deputy recognized the passenger, Rossi, and he knew that Rossi had an outstanding arrest warrant for possession of controlled substances.

Another deputy arrived on the scene to assist with the arrest of Rossi, and she was ordered to step out of the truck. Rossi became irate and cursed at the sheriff's deputies, court files indicate. Rossi was asked a second time to step outside of the truck and she refused again. When Deputy Bataoel opened the passenger door, Rossi tried to kick him, court documents reflected.

At that point, the sheriff's deputy grabbed Rossi by her leg and Deputy Vasquez grabbed her right arm and she was forcibly removed from the vehicle. Outside, Rossi kept resisting arrest and refused to obey all of their commands, prosecutors pointed out.

"The struggle continued as the defendant was pinned against the side of the truck's bed where Deputy Vasquez and Deputy Bataoel fought to obtain her arms. Once her arms were placed behind her back, she was secured in handcuffs," prosecutors outlined.

As a result of last week's arrest, Will County prosecutors have charged Rossi with aggravated assault and resisting a peace officer. Last February, the Joliet police filed a criminal complaint charging Rossi with delivery of controlled substance, being valium, on Dec. 23, 2023, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

On Monday, Judge Gavlin signed an order indicating that Rossi voluntarily moved to revoke her pretrial release. The motion was granted. Rossi's case was set over until Thursday in Courtroom 402 of Judge Amy Christiansen.

Back in 2018, Rossi was called as a prosecution trial witness in the March 2016 killings inside the Fleet Specialty Painting body shop on Joliet's Cass Street. Billy Krasawski was convicted of using a long steel hammer and a heavy lead pipe wrench to club Michael Oram, 48, and Jamie Wills, 43, over their skulls. Both suffered multiple blows to their heads, dying inside Oram's family-owned business in the 800 block of Cass Street on March 9, 2016.

During the trial testimony, Rossi took the stand. She had signed an immunity agreement to testify. Rossi told the jury that she supplied Billy Krasawski with his crack cocaine back in 2016. She also testified she remained a regular user of crack cocaine, having used crack in recent days. Prosecutors asked Rossi if she met up with the defendant several hours before the body shop murders to furnish Billy Krasawski with his crack cocaine?

"I did," she testified.

Krasawski called her back that afternoon because he needed more, she testified.

However, Rossi told the courtroom she was headed out of town and could not deliver him with any more drugs. The double murder defendant acted perturbed and remarked that Rossi was making him "go through Mike" Oram to get more drugs, she testified.

Later that night, Oram and Wills were bludgeoned to death inside the body shop. Other prosecution witnesses testified they saw the two smoking crack cocaine with Krasawski inside the body shop late into the night on March 8, 2016.