Chicago Mother Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
Case summary
On the night of February 7, 2011, Thies-Keogh, 32, suffocated her eight-month-old son Colin at their Lakeview home in Chicago while in the grip of a severe postpartum illness; her husband called 911 after she told him over the phone that 'it's too late.' Prosecutors argued she had planned the killing and waited for her husband to leave for the gym. On September 4, 2012, Cook County Judge James Linn found her not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered an evaluation by the Illinois Department of Human Services. The case is one of the Illinois decisions often cited in the campaign that led to the state's 2018 postpartum sentencing law.
Mental-health context
Mental health professionals testified that Thies-Keogh was most likely psychotic at the time of her son's death and that she was 'detached from reality' and does not remember what happened. Judge James Linn described her as a 'very, very sick' woman and said the baby died because of his mother's deteriorating mental health. She received psychiatric care and medication while on bond.
Status / outcome
Not guilty by reason of insanity (September 2012); referred for psychiatric evaluation and treatment
Sources
- https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/lakeview-mom-not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity-for-infants-death/
- https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/lakeview-woman-charged-in-death-of-8-month-old-son/
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