(Modified upon denial of rehearing 12/15/20.)Defendant and her boyfriend, codefendant, following simultaneous but severed jury trials, were convicted of 1st degree murder of a woman and intentional homicide of her unborn child. Defendant, age 19 at time of offenses, was sentenced to natural life in prison. Defendant was not in custody until she was arrested for obstruction of justice. She voluntarily chose to accompany codefendant to the police station the day before; she was neither handcuffed nor denied access to her personal belongings, and was driven in a separate police vehicle from codefendant, and vehicle did not have a barrier between the front and rear seats. Court's findings that Defendant was not in custody before she confessed and that her confession was voluntary were not against manifest weight of evidence. Court properly denied her pretrial motions to quash arrest and suppress evidence. Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's pretrial motion to admit evidence of codefendant's past crimes , as the evidence was not relevant to her defense. Court properly denied motion to admit out-of-court statements made by the victim to her friend, as statements were hearsay and victim was not abused by a family or household member.(FITZGERALD SMITH and COBBS, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Jury Instructions