Illinois

Bonnie Liltz Waits to Learn Her Fate

A chronically ill Schaumburg mother who pleaded guilty in the death of her severely disabled daughter could soon be forced to return to prison. 

Bonnie Liltz, who gave her daughter a deadly dose of medication in a botched murder-suicide attempt, is expected to face a judge Monday - the same judge who sent her to prison in the first place. 

Liltz has said she tried to kill herself and her daughter because she thought she was dying and was worried about what would happen to her 28-year-old daughter Courtney after her death. 

The Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear Liltz's appeal of the four-year sentence she received when she plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter for Courtney's death.

"You know, I am sure it wasn’t an easy decision," Liltz said. "You don’t want to say it's OK. There were people who were on my side, who knew me, knew my daughter, knew the love I had for my daughter. Knew I didn’t do it out of malice. I was in a situation where I thought I was dying that night, and what was going to happen to my daughter?" 

Liltz admits she was likely not in her right mind when, while facing a health crisis of her own, she decided to end her adopted daughter’s life rather than allow her to be placed in state care.

"When you are in situation where you think you are dying -- my heart was in palpitations, I was sweating -- and you’ve got this little person here, sleeping right next to you and you are going, 'Lord, what’s going to happen?' My family can't take care of her. They are in their 80s. My only thought was if I leave, die and leave her, she is going to wind up in a state facility, and i just couldn’t do that to her."

Last year, Liltz was released from the Logan Correctional Center, in part because her own severe intestinal problems were threatening her health behind bars. 

She worries that she may not survive if she is forced to go back. 

"Based on Bonnie and her special needs, the Illinois Department of Corrections is ill-equipped to handle her special needs when she is incarcerated in their custody and control," attorney Thomas Glasgow said. 

Liltz is expected to appear before the judge Tuesday, where she will likely learn her fate. 

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