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Lawsuit by murdered Geneva man's survivors moves toward conclusion

A dispute over the estate of a Geneva woman who fatally poisoned her husband in 2016 could be coming to a close.

Attorneys for Julia Gutierrez have not challenged her guilty plea in Eduardo Guiterrez' murder, and a judge could decide in November she is responsible for damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit, according to Kane County court records.

Gutierrez, 55, pleaded guilty - but mentally ill - in April to first-degree murder charges in the Jan. 28, 2016, poisoning of her husband and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

According to authorities, she mixed a fatal dose of sedatives into the protein shake of Eduardo, 53.

Police went to the couple's Geneva home for a well-being check after a friend of Gutierrez in Rock City, Illinois, received a package in the mail containing $40,000, an unsigned check, and a note from her, saying: "Ed has been suffering so much. I have been holding on all this time and I can't do it anymore."

Eduardo's relatives filed a wrongful-death lawsuit last year, seeking unspecified damages.

The burden of proof is lower in a civil proceeding than a criminal case, and Tim Reuland, the attorney for Eduardo's estate, has cited Julia's guilty plea making her liable in the lawsuit.

"There is no doubt that (Julia Gutierrez) admitted to killing the decedent, that she made that admission against her interest, and that, even though she had the opportunity to offer an explanation, she failed to do so," read part of a court motion written by Reuland. "There is no dispute about material facts. There are no different inferences to be drawn from the guilty plea. The guilty plea stands unrebutted, uncontradicted ... and fully admissible."

John Paul Kelly, an attorney representing Julia Gutierrez in the lawsuit, has not filed a counter affidavit disputing her guilty plea, and Judge Susan Clancy Boles this week gave Kelly until Nov. 15 to respond.

In November, if Boles finds Gutierrez liable, a hearing will be set to determine damages.

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Julia Gutierrez is being sued for damages by relatives of Eduardo Gutierrez, who was fatally poisoned in early 2016. Submitted Photo
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