Waukegan mom charged with killing girl pleads not guilty
A Waukegan woman charged with killing her malnourished 11-year-old daughter last month pleaded not guilty in Lake County court Thursday.
Nicholette Lawrence, 32, was arraigned on 14 counts of first-degree murder in the death of Raasania Coley. She faces life in prison if convicted.
Waukegan firefighters found Raasania unresponsive at her Gillette Avenue home on Sept. 5. The girl, who was pronounced dead later at a hospital, weighed just 55 pounds, authorities said.
An autopsy revealed the girl was malnourished and had been burned with cigarettes, Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd said last month.
Lawrence told investigators she had punched the girl in the stomach two days before her death, according to prosecutors.
During Thursday's hearing, Judge George Strickland said the case could go to trial Feb. 2, 2015.
Lawrence is facing so many counts because of the victim's age and the "exceptionally brutal" nature of the crime, said Cynthia Vargas, spokeswoman for the Lake County state's attorney's office.
Investigators have cellphone videos showing Lawrence beating the girl with a belt, authorities said.
Lawrence is being held in Lake County jail on $5 million bail. Her two other children have been taken into state custody.
Strickland scheduled a case management conference for Nov. 19.