Both sides maneuver in Woodstock burning death trial

In a challenge to McHenry County prosecutors' plans to have murder suspect Lawrence Hucksteadt indefinitely committed to a mental health institution, an attorney for the Woodstock man moved Friday for a hearing that could instead end with a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.

Senior Assistant McHenry County Public Defender Christopher Harmon filed for a discharge hearing on Hucksteadt's case, a quasi-trial like proceeding at which a judge will determine whether the accused killer is guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity or not guilty.

"After consulting with my client and doing research, I think this is in the best interests of my client," Harmon said.

The request comes one week after McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said his office would initiate civil court proceedings it hoped would lead to Hucksteadt, who's accused of killing a woman by setting her on fire, being held in a mental health facility for the rest of his life.

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said Friday he will research case law relevant to the defense request and return to court next week with a formal response.

If found guilty after a discharge hearing, the 46-year-old Hucksteadt, who has been declared mentally unfit to stand trial, would be held for up to five more years while state psychiatrists try to make him fit.

If a court instead rules him not guilty by reason of insanity, he likely would be ordered into a state facility until psychiatrists, psychologists and a judge determine he can be released.

Under state law, a person not guilty by reason of insanity can he held for as long as the maximum sentence faced if found guilty. In Hucksteadt's case, that is the rest of his life.

Bianchi, however, said last week his office worries that if Hucksteadt were found not guilty by reason of insanity, it would lose jurisdiction over the case and the question of his release would be out of its hands.

If civilly committed, though, prosecutors would have the option of refiling murder charges if and when state doctors determine Hucksteadt no longer needs to be held in an institution.

Hucksteadt faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and heinous battery stemming from a July 16, 2004, incident in which police said he poured gasoline on 69-year-old Ellen Polivka as she worked as a receptionist at a Woodstock mental health clinic gasoline and then set her on fire. The Woodstock woman died about a month later.