Caseyville businessman accused of hiring hitman to kill wife’s girlfriend in Collinsville By Teri Maddox Updated January 27, 2025 1:17 PM| Portia Rowland, left, was shot and killed outside her Collinsville home Tuesday morning. Investigators later released a photo of a suspect captured by a security camera. Provided The Madison County state’s attorney’s office has charged a Caseyville businessman with murder and solicitation for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his estranged wife’s girlfriend. Sammy J. Shafer Jr., 36, is one of three suspects arrested over the weekend and charged Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of Portia Rowland, 32, early Tuesday morning outside the small brick home on Olive Street in Collinsville that the women shared. Sammy Shafer Jr. is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of solicitation of murder for hire. “Said defendant, or a person for whom he is legally accountable, without lawful justification, and by means of discharging a firearm, with the intent to kill Portia Rowland, shot Portia Rowland, thereby causing (her death),” the criminal complaint states. Other suspects in the murder-for-hire case include Marty D. Shaw, 33, who Sammy Shafer Jr. is accused of hiring. Shaw is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly shooting Rowland. A third suspect, Gary D. Johnson, 45, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for allegedly shooting Rowland and one count of possession of a weapon by a felon. Sammy Shafer Jr. is married to Sarah Shafer, 34, who told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week that she was living with Rowland and planning to marry her, and that they were preparing their Collinsville home so Shafer’s three children from a previous relationship could move in. Sammy Shafer Jr. filed for divorce from Sarah Shafer in August 2023 after nearly 10 years of marriage, according to St. Clair County Circuit Court records. That case remains open. Negotiations have involved their three children, ages 7, 13 and 14. The couple had agreed that Sammy Shafer Jr. would keep their Caseyville home, and Sarah Shafer would keep the Collinsville home. Their last divorce-related hearing was Jan. 14. Another one was scheduled for Feb. 25. Sarah Shafer obtained an emergency order of protection against Sammy Shafer Jr. in April 2024 that was in effect for three weeks. In her request for the order, Sarah Shafer alleged that Sammy Shafer Jr. had pinned her down, tried to remove her clothing and touch her private parts without permission, left with her vehicle keys, removed a fuse from the vehicle so it wouldn’t start and smashed her cellphone. “He called and said if I won’t be with him he’s going to do anything in his power to keep the kids away from me,” stated the request, which listed Sarah Shafer’s address at the Olive Street home. The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, which is conducting the murder investigation, has scheduled a press conference Monday afternoon to provide more details on the case. A police officer secures yellow tape around a home on Olive Street in Collinsville on Tuesday morning, hours after a fatal shooting occurred near the garage. Joshua Carter jcarter@bnd.com Sammy Shafer Jr. is a well-known businessman who operates S. Shafer Excavating in Pontoon Beach with his father, Sammy Shafer Sr. They work on jobs throughout the region. Illinois Secretary of State records show that Sammy Shafer Jr. also is president of several other businesses, including a trucking company and Caseyville Bridge Inn, a bar on Main Street. Collinsville police responded shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday to a report of gunshots heard in the vicinity of Olive Street and Indiana Avenue. They found Rowland, who had been shot, lying near the garage of a home at 1301 Olive St. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Sarah Shafer told the Post-Dispatch that she was sleeping in the home when police knocked on the door and told her what happened. Police requested assistance from the Major Case Squad, which deployed about 30 investigators. By Wednesday afternoon, they had released an image of a suspect from a security camera. The person was dressed in all black, including a hoodie, and appeared to be holding a handgun. Rowland’s obituary, which was posted on the Irwin Chapel website, described her as a “bright, shining light in this world.” Rowland was a 2010 graduate of Collinsville High School. She liked “working with her hands,” the obituary states. She was employed as a mechanic for Metropolitan Sewer District in St. Louis. “Portia was a talented athlete, and she excelled in playing flag football, volleyball and billiards,” the obituary states. “Her greatest joy was spending time with her family and hanging out with her friends. Portia will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her.” The obituary referred to Sarah Shafer as a “special friend” of Rowland in a paragraph listing her survivors. A visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Monday at Irwin Chapel in Glen Carbon, followed by a funeral service at 7 p.m. Anyone with information on the shooting is being asked to contact the Major Case Squad through Collinsville police at 618-344-2131, ext. 5924, or Crime Stoppers at 866-371-TIPS (8477).

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