Elmhurst woman charged with trying to murder son

A 41-year-old Elmhurst woman has been charged with intentionally drugging her 7-year-old son before cutting her own throat and passing out, authorities said Monday.

Cheryl Luchetta was arrested on charges of attempted murder after police found her son unresponsive at their home Thursday morning. The boy was transported to a hospital and since has been released.

The evening before, authorities said, Luchetta gave her son a mixture of Valium and Tylenol PM. After cutting her throat and passing out, she woke up the next morning to find her son unresponsive, and called 911.

“Any crime committed against a child tears at your heartstrings,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “What makes this case particularly disturbing is the allegation that this young boy was intentionally poisoned by his own mother.”

In addition to the attempted murder charge, Luchetta was charged Monday with one count of aggravated battery to a child. Both charges are Class X felonies.

If convicted, she could face up to 60 years in prison.

Luchetta remains at a secured hospital facility in DuPage County. She will appear in bond court upon her release.