Murder case likely on hold in fatal McHenry Co. burning

Siding with prosecutors, a McHenry County judge Friday ordered a civil commitment hearing for a Woodstock man accused of killing a woman by setting her on fire in the lobby of a mental health clinic.

Judge Joseph Condon ruled county prosecutors could move forward with plans to dismiss murder charges against Lawrence Hucksteadt and instead take steps to have him locked away indefinitely in a state mental health facility.

The state now has seven days to hold a hearing to determine whether Hucksteadt, 46, must be held involuntarily as a threat to himself or others.

Prosecutors say that if the judge presiding over the closed hearing determines Hucksteadt is not currently a threat, they will reinstate charges of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and heinous battery. They also plan to refile the charges if, at any point, state doctors believe Hucksteadt no longer needs to be held in a secure mental health facility.

The charges stem from a July 16, 2004, incident in which Hucksteadt, according to police, poured gasoline on Ellen Polivka, 69, at a Woodstock mental health clinic where he was a onetime client and then set her on fire. Polivka, a receptionist at the clinic, died about a month later.

Hucksteadt has been mentally unfit to stand trial for most of the five years since, and Condon ruled earlier this year that it appears unlikely he ever will be fit.

His decision Friday comes about three weeks after Hucksteadt's defense challenged plans for a civil commitment, arguing instead for a discharge hearing. The hearing is a trial-like proceeding at which a judge would determine him guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity or not guilty.

Prosecutors opposed that because they fear that if Hucksteadt were found not guilty by reason of insanity, they would lose jurisdiction over the case and the question of his possible release would be out of its hands.