Man who set clinic receptionist on fire insane, judge rules

A McHenry County man who walked into a mental health clinic with a cigarette in one hand and an open paint bucket of gasoline in the other, then set on fire a receptionist who tried to stop him, was criminally insane at the time, a judge ruled Thursday.

Finding that mental disorders prevented Lawrence E. Hucksteadt from understanding the criminality of his actions, Judge Joseph Condon ruled the Woodstock man not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of first-degree murder, heinous battery and aggravated arson.

"The defendant killed Ellen Polivka, and when he did so he suffered from a mental disease," Condon said. "The defendant was insane."

The decision means Hucksteadt, 46, will remain locked up in a state mental institution until a judge rules he no longer is a threat to the public. He could be held for the rest of his life.

Hucksteadt showed no reaction when Condon issued the decision. Members of Polivka family shook their heads in dismay.

McHenry County prosecutors do not plan to appeal.

"We disagree, but we respect the judge's decision," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said.

Hucksteadt, who has a long history of mental illness, has been incarcerated in state facilities for most of the last five years since the July 16, 2004 incident at a behavioral health clinic in his hometown.

Police said Hucksteadt - just three days after he was refused admission to a hospital for treatment - walked into the facility, argued with Polivka, 69, of Woodstock, then left.

He returned a short time later with the gas, poured it over her and set her on fire. Polivka died from her injuries about a month later.

Condon issued his decision after hearing testimony from a psychiatrist who said Hucksteadt suffered from both severe mental illness and withdrawal from benzodiazepine, a sedative used to treat panic disorder, anxiety disorder and other mental illnesses.

The combination, Dr. Albert Stipes testified, left Hucksteadt unable to understand the criminality of his actions that day.

In the 18 months before the incident, Senior Assistant Public Defender Christopher Harmon said Thursday, Hucksteadt had been hospitalized 14 times for mental treatment, including a weeklong stay that ended just days before the attack. In two of the 2004 hospitalizations incidents, Hucksteadt told doctors he wanted to kill people and wanted to die himself.

"He walked into a hospital with security cameras smoking a cigarette and carrying a container of gasoline," Harmon said in court. "The act speaks for itself." Hucksteadt will return to court Jan. 14, at which time state officials will present Condon with a report detailing how they plan to treat and house him.

"From my experience, he will be in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services for a very long time," Harmon said.