Health of Schaumburg woman charged in daughter's death delays case
Medical procedures will delay the next hearing for a Schaumburg woman charged with first-degree murder in the June death of her severely disabled daughter.
Bonnie Liltz will return to court in Rolling Meadows March 16 after she recuperates from unspecified medical procedures, defense attorney Thomas Glasgow said.
Neither prosecutors nor Cook County Judge Joseph Greenblatt have made Liltz a plea offer, Glasgow said, although the Arlington Heights attorney has discussed with prosecutors the possibility of a plea agreement that he said could consist of "probation, penitentiary time or a combination of the two."
"I believe we were very close to a resolution," said Glasgow, who last month gave Greenblatt a packet consisting of letters from Liltz's family and friends, adoption and medical records, and statements from advocates for people with disabilities testifying to the love and attention Liltz gave her daughter, who suffered from cerebral palsy and required 24-hour care.
Glasgow say Liltz, a 55-year-old cancer survivor, had a recurrence in 2012. Glasgow said Liltz was despondent over health problems that at one point forced her to place 28-year-old Courtney in a state-run facility while Liltz was hospitalized.
"If I go first, what will happen to her?" Liltz wrote in a note found by police. "I don't want her to live in an institution for the rest of her life."
Authorities say Liltz fed herself and Courtney a combination of over-the-counter and prescription drugs on May 27. A relative discovered the women alive but unresponsive and called police, prosecutors said. Liltz recovered. Courtney died about a week later without regaining consciousness.
Glasgow declined to speculate on when a trial might occur.
"I'm concerned she survives the medical procedures and doesn't deteriorate further," he said.