Prosecutors said they might seek a life sentence if an Illinois CEO is convicted of killing former University of Maine basketball player Nate J. Fox, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Jeffrey Keller, 51, who heads an Internet company, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in DuPage County court in Illinois to shooting Fox in a fit of jealousy over a woman, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutors filed notice of their intention to seek the stiff penalty because Keller allegedly committed the killing “in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner pursuant to a preconceived plan,” according to the report.

Keller believed that Fox was having an affair with a woman whom Keller was romantically interested in, prosecutors say. The woman worked with Fox but told officials she was not involved with him.

Fox, 37, was a standout at UMaine, starring for two seasons from 1998 to 2000 after transferring from Boston College. He went on after college to play professionally in Europe for more than a decade.

He lived in Bloomingdale, Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago, and working as a car salesman.

Keller was being held at the county jail without bond, the report said.