Suspect in grisly murder may never be ready for trial, report states

Almost four years after authorities say he committed the grisly murder of a 69-year-old McHenry County woman, Lawrence Hucksteadt remains mentally unfit to stand trial and the chances of that ever changing appear unlikely, according to a psychiatric report revealed in court Monday.

The report, from doctors at the Elgin Mental Health Center, casts doubt on whether Hucksteadt ever will face trial or any kind of criminal justice on charges he doused a woman with gasoline and set her on fire inside a Woodstock medical center.

McHenry County prosecutors, however, say they are not giving up just yet.

"We're still going to pursue our options to have him held responsible criminally for his actions," First Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Thomas Carroll said.

Hucksteadt, 44, faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and heinous battery for a July 2004 attack that claimed the life of Woodstock resident Ellen Polivka.

Police said the attack occurred after Hucksteadt and Polivka argued inside a behavioral health center where the defendant was receiving treatment and the victim worked.

Hucksteadt, also a Woodstock resident, returned a short time later with a can of gasoline, dumped it on Polivka and set her on fire, police said. She died of her injuries about a month later.

Hucksteadt has spent most of the 45 months since in state mental health facilities as doctors have tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to treat him to the point where he could understand the court proceedings against him and help prepare a defense.

His attorney, Senior Assistant McHenry County Public Defender Christopher Harmon, said he has spoken with Hucksteadt several times in recent months, but his mental instability prevents any meaningful conversation about the case.

"His mental condition has not improved," Harmon said.

With the latest doctors' report, Hucksteadt could seek a discharge hearing, a triallike proceeding in which a judge will hear evidence and determine whether the Woodstock man is not guilty, guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

If the judge rules guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity, the state could hold him for up to five more years while trying to make him fit for trial. If that fails, authorities can seek to have him committed involuntarily.

"We think under any scenario, he's going to be held (in custody)," Carroll said. "It's just a matter of where."