The Madison County state’s attorney’s office has filed a list of nearly 150 witnesses whom prosecutors could call during the trial of a man accused of hiring two hitmen to shoot and kill his estranged wife’s girlfriend outside a Collinsville home earlier this year.
The murder trial of Sammy J. Shafer Jr., 37, is scheduled for April 27, 2026, according to court records. The Caseyville businessman and father of three has been held in the Madison County Jail without bond since his arrest Jan. 25.
The witness list includes Marty D. Shaw, 34, of Collinsville — the alleged getaway driver and former employee of Shafer’s excavating business — and Gary D. Johnson, 46, of East St. Louis, the alleged shooter and Shaw’s cousin…