Trial continues for Carol Stream woman accused of trying to poison stepdaughter

The bench trial for a Carol Stream woman accused of mixing nail polish remover into a toddler's cup of milk will continue next month after a DuPage County judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors have so far presented sufficient evidence to gain a conviction.

Andrea Vazquez-Hernandez, 37, is charged with aggravated battery, domestic battery and attempted aggravated battery. Prosecutors say she tried to poison her stepdaughter after a dispute with her husband and the girl's mother.

She is accused of putting about an inch of nail polish remover in the girl's cup and mixing it with milk while her husband and the girl were out of the house.

The ruling came Tuesday after defense attorney Neil Levine asked Judge Brian Telander to find a directed verdict of not guilty before presenting his defense.

Levine argued the aggravated battery and domestic battery charges, in which the defendant uses force or causes the ingestion of a toxic substance, should not stand because the girl spit out the tainted milk before swallowing it and allowing it to "enter her system."

Levine also argued the attempted aggravated battery charge should not stand because Vazquez-Hernandez told police she only thought the child would get diarrhea and not suffer bodily harm.

Telander disagreed and set July 11 as the next court date, during which Levine is expected to present his case in chief, likely followed by closing arguments and a ruling.

When the trial began last month, the girl's father, Robert Clark, testified that he took his 6-year-old son and the girl to get ice cream on May 29, 2016, after a particularly ugly dispute in which Vazquez-Hernandez threw her shoes at him and threatened to kill him.

After returning home, Clark testified, he retrieved the sippy cup his daughter had used throughout the day and gave it to her.

"She took a sip, spit it out and threw it on the floor," he testified on the trial's first day. "About 20 minutes later she pointed to the kitchen and I went and got her the bottle again and she did the exact same thing."

Clark said he checked the expiration date on the milk and then inspected the cup.

"As soon as I took the lid off, I smelled nail polish remover clear as day," he said. "It was pungent. It was really strong."

He testified he then took the girl to the hospital, where the drink was inspected and the girl was examined and released, uninjured.

Vazquez-Hernandez has been held on $250,000 bail since her arrest and faces up to five years in prison if convicted. According to the DuPage County sheriff department's website, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department also has a hold on Vazquez-Hernandez.