Betty Akamani pleads not guilty in SIU professor’s shooting death

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

JACKSON COUNTY, Ill., (KBSI) — Betty Akamani pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Oct. 6, to charges stemming from the shooting death of her husband, Southern Illinois University Carbondale professor Kofi Akamani.

Akamani, 35, faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of child endangerment.

According to an Oct. 6 court entry, she appeared from the Jackson County Jail. The court appointed a public defender and formally read the charges in the indictment before she entered her pleas.

The charges stem from the Sept. 19 shooting of Kofi Akamani, 48, near a home off Lake Road between Murphysboro and Carbondale. He was taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was pronounced dead.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 27, followed by a status hearing at 1 p.m. Nov. 9. A jury trial is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Nov. 16.

The charges are accusations, and Akamani is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.