BLOOMINGTON - Several defendants in local murder cases appeared in McLean County Circuit Court on Friday.

- Liam McCauley, 20, of Bloomington, pleaded not guilty to the Aug. 21 stabbing and beating death of his father, Joseph McCauley, at the family's home at 305 N. Clayton St.

The 57-year-old victim was a longtime member of the Heartland Community College faculty, where he taught arts and humanities courses.

McCauley made a brief appearance in court for an arraignment with defense attorney Stephanie Wong. On the way to into the hearing, he smiled at several family members in the courtroom. McCauley remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. His next court date is Oct. 2.

- Jeff Meece, 47, Bloomington, pleaded not guilty to murdering his 14-month-old daughter. He was arrested Aug. 20 outside 609 S. Madison St., where he told police "someone killed my baby" and "I killed my baby," according to a prosecutor's statement.

Inside the home Meese reportedly shared with his mother and uncle, police found Erika Meese with traumatic injuries. The girl died the following day at a Peoria hospital. She suffered skull fractures and hemorrhaging, said court records.

Police responded to the home in response to a call involving someone breaking windows with a baseball bat and found Meese holding a bat, according to police reports.

A Sept. 25 hearing date is set for Meece, who remains jailed in lieu of $100,000.

- A Nov. 13 hearing was set for a Springfield man charged with the 2005 murder of Barry "Boo" Lewis.

Tommy Lee Slayton, 42, is accused in three first-degree murder counts of choking Lewis with a belt. Slayton has denied killing Lewis, whose body was found by police in the trunk of a car after it was towed to the Bloomington Police Department.

Slayton pleaded guilty to concealing Lewis' body and was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. Currently, he is serving a six-year sentence for armed robbery.