Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Reports say she is at a high risk of causing harm to her son and ex-husband if released.
- POLICE & FIRE
-
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Prosecutors are hoping a higher bail set Monday will make it more difficult for an Elmhurst mom to get out of jail while she awaits trial on charges she tried to kill her son. DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin increased Cheryl Luchetta's bail to $1 million on Monday after hearing an audio recording of her threatening her ex-husband and demanded to speak to her son, The Daily Herald is reporting. Prosecutors say she has violated multiple times a court order prohibiting her from contacting them. Guerin also ordered her to stay more than a mile from the boy if she should happen to be released. Assistant State’s Attorney Cathy DeLaMar last week filed a request to have Luchetta's bail raised to $3 million. It formerly was $300,000. Her erratic …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Prosecutors want Cheryl Luchetta’s bail raised.
Since being jailed in June, Cheryl Luchetta has improperly contacted her ex-husband and son, been placed in jail segregation three times for rules violations and might be a greater risk to cause harm than ever before, prosecutors said. Assistant State’s Attorney Cathy DeLaMar recently filed a request to have Luchetta’s bail raised from $300,000 to $3 million as a way to assure she remains in DuPage County Jail through the remainder of her attempted murder case. Elmhurst police arrested Luchetta last year after she drugged her then 7-year-old son and then cut her own throat. The boy now lives with his father, Matthew, after he and Luchetta settled their divorce case in February. Luchetta told investigators she tried to kill her son with a …
Monday, December 5, 2011
Here's a look at cases we're following in DuPage County courts.
Elmhurst—Cheryl Luchetta is expected to have a new attorney when she returns to court Dec. 14 in her attempted murder case. Luchetta, who is accused of drugging her young son, previously received permission to make a phone call from the DuPage County Jail in order to find a new lawyer to represent her. She previously had a public defender. On Nov. 29, attorneys indicated her new lawyer would appear at the next court date. Darien—Attorneys for triple-murder suspect Johnny Borizov moved one step closer last week to having access to medical and psychological records for co-defendant Jacob Nodarse. DuPage prosecutors turned over a large box of documents from two doctors who examined Nodarse for his defense. Borizov's attorneys have long sought…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Sandra Clanton's case goes before the judge again Nov. 15.
Elmhurst resident Sandra Clanton, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the attempted murder of her grandson, has been transferred to a state facility to receive an evaluation of her mental health, attorneys said during an Oct. 4 hearing. Clanton had been held in DuPage County Jail until Sept. 22, when she was taken into custody by the Illinois Department of Human Services. The evaluation will help determine the type of treatment Clanton should received and where. Judge Daniel Guerin found Clanton was insane at the time she slammed her infant grandson's head on a counter and cut him with a knife. Evaluations in DuPage County determined Clanton suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. The case returns to court Nov. 15.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sandra Clanton ruled not guilty by reason of insanity
After a brief, stipulated bench trial Thursday, Judge Daniel Guerin found 40-year-old Elmhurst resident Sandra Clanton not guilty by reason of insanity in the attempted murder of her young grandson last year. Guerin considered evidence agreed to by Assistant State's Attorney Michael Pawl and Clanton's attorney, Michael Walsh, which included witness testimony and a lengthy psychological exam that deemed Clanton mentally ill and unable to understand her actions. Clanton declined to testify. Ultimately, Guerin said Pawl had proven Clanton attempted to murder her grandson, but Walsh showed sufficient evidence that Clanton was insane during the Sept. 11, 2010, incident inside her Elmhurst apartment. At Pawl's request, Guerin ordered Clanton be …
Monday, July 18, 2011
Judge has "reasonable belief" Cheryl Luchetta's counsel will pursue insanity defense.
An Elmhurst mother accused of giving her 7-year-old son between five and 15 pills before slitting her own throat last month will undergo a mental evaluation. DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Daniel P. Guerin granted prosecutors' request to order the mental evaluation for Cheryl Luchetta this morning, with the anticipation her counsel will pursue the insanity defense. Luchetta's counsel reaffirmed its stance that the request was premature. Guerin held that, based on state statute, prosecutors could order the evaluation before the defense announced which route it would take in trial. Prosecutors chose Dr. James Murray to conduct the evaluation, which typically takes between four and six weeks. "(Luchetta) told authorities she was depressed…
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The accused, Cheryl Luchetta, also was in court on Monday for another divorce hearing.
An Elmhurst woman who allegedly attempted to poison her 7-year-old son made a brief appearance in a DuPage County courtroom Tuesday morning. Cheryl Luchetta, 41, appeared before Judge Dan Guerin to set a time for her arraignment. Luchetta was arrested June 8 and charged with attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery to a child. During her few moments before the judge, a handcuffed Luchetta remained silent. Throughout the proceeding, Luchetta’s head was mostly bowed, with her long hair hiding her face. But periodically she looked up and made quick, nervous glances around the room while attorneys discussed evidentiary disclosure and a possible psychological evaluation. The prosecution is calling for a mental evaluation, but …
Monday, July 11, 2011
Here's a look at some of the cases we're keeping an eye on this week, July 11-14.
- POLICE & FIRE
-
Monday, July 11, 2011
At the DuPage County Courthouse this week are hearings for two women accused of attempted murders in Elmhurst, a man accused in a triple murder in Darien and man accused in a jewelry heist in Naperville. Elmhurst—Cheryl Luchetta, accused of drugging her son in what might have been an attempted murder-suicide, is scheduled for a July 12 hearing where prosecutors will ask the judge to order Luchetta to undergo a psychological exam. Hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Elmhurst—Cheryl Luchetta's divorce case is also up this week, at 9 a.m. July 11. Elmhurst—Sandra Clanton, charged with the attempted murder of her grandson, is scheduled for July 13 status hearing. Darien—Johnny Borizov, charged in the triple murder of his girlfriend's family, is …
Friday, June 24, 2011
Cheryl Luchetta had been hospitalized since early June, when prosecutors say she drugged her 7-year-old.
The Elmhurst mother accused of drugging her 7-year-old son and then cutting her own throat made her first court appearance Friday afternoon during a brief hearing before Judge Michael Wolfe, who upheld the $300,000 bail amount attached to an arrest warrant issued two weeks ago. Prosecutors told Wolfe that Cheryl Luchetta on June 8 gave her son a mixture of valium, diazepam and Tylenol PM, and then took nine months' worth of her own valium prescription before cutting her throat. Luchetta, who suffered a superficial wound to the neck, apparently vomited her pills before waking up the next morning. She then called 911 and told an emergency dispatcher that she and her son were victims of a home invasion by a suspect who forced the boy to take …
ROP
7:29 pm on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
huh. she looks pretty normal to me. more ›