Former Mt. Olive man charged with murder

On Sunday, Aug. 7, at approximately 4:40 a.m., the Madison County sheriff's office received a 911 call of a disturbance occurring at a residence in the 2200 block of Miracle Avenue in Granite City. Upon arriving on scene, deputies located two victims that had been battered and the suspect, who was still on scene at the residence.

The suspect was identified as Blake Kevin Streeb, age 30, of Granite City. He is formerly of Mt. Olive and graduated from Mt. Olive High School.

While assessing the scene and gathering preliminary information, it was determined that when Streeb arrived at the residence, he attacked the victims. It's believed he was intoxicated at the time. Streeb was taken into custody at the scene.

One of the victims, Michael John Reay, age 25, sustained substantial injuries and was transported to a St. Louis area hospital. According to reports, Reay was visiting the home. He was confined to a wheelchair and blind following an accident when he was a teenager. The other victim, Norman Richter, resided there and received minor injuries. He managed to get away and call 911.

On Tuesday, Aug. 9, the Madison County state's attorney's office charged Streeb with multiple counts of aggravated battery and battery. Then on Wednesday, Aug. 10, Reay succumbed to the injuries he sustained from Streeb's attack.

As a result, on Thursday, Aug. 11, the Madison County state's attorney's office amended the charges against Streeb to two counts of first degree murder and one count of battery.

Bond was set at $1 million by Judge Ronald Slemer. Streeb remains in custody.