Mother Who Killed Disabled Daughter Commits Suicide

A Chicago woman who has yet to complete her prison term for killing her disabled daughter in 2015 was found in her apartment in an apparent case of suicide.

Cook County Medical Examiner’s spokesman Frank Shuftan said 57-year-old Bonnie Liltz was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday evening. Liltz was scheduled to return to prison on Monday.

Liltz’s sister found her unresponsive in bed and called 911. Liltz’s lawyer, Thomas Glasgow, said that Liltz even met with her father and then went to visit her mom and sister before her death.

Schaumburg Police Sgt. Christy Lindhurst said they have no evidence of foul play, and they are convinced it was a case of suicide.

Only last year, an Illinois Circuit Court judge sentenced Liltz to four years in prison for drugging and killing her 28-year-old daughter, Courtney, in what was decided as a failed murder-suicide in 2015.

Courtney Liltz had cerebral palsy and severe cognitive defects stemming from a seizure when she was only a 2-year-old toddler.

Liltz pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors decided to reduce her initial murder charge. She was taken into custody in May and was in the Illinois Department of Corrections for 73 days. She was released after posting the bond in August.

Liltz also struggled with severe health issues including cancer. Glasglow said it is unfortunate that things had to end in suicide for her, especially since they have a petition that would grant her clemency. They were set for a hearing in January.

It seems Liltz could not wait for things to get better. She also left a suicide note where she told her family she loved them so much and that she’s sorry, but that “she just could not go back to that place.”

In 2015, with mounting frustrations about her failing health and believing she was dying and concerns over her daughter’s condition and challenges, Liltz tried to kill them both when she funneled a concoction of crushed medications in water through Courtney’s feeding tube. Then she downed her own pill cocktail with a glass of wine. She also left a suicide note at that time saying she can’t leave her daughter behind as she was “her life.”

They were found unconscious and brought to a hospital. She woke and survived while her daughter never recovered and died.

Source:

https://www.ksat.com/news/national/woman-who-killed-disabled-daughter-dies-in-apparent-suicide