JADA JUSTICE -3 yo - Gary IN

Accused killer Timothy John Tkachik appeared in court Friday with a
swollen right eye, prompting the judge to ask what happened to him.
Tkachik, 23, of Hobart, told Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., he has an eye infection.During a brief hearing, Stefaniak granted a request by deputy
prosecutors David Urbanski and Aleksandra Dimitrijevic that Tkachik
provide a DNA sample. The judge also granted a request by defense
attorney Herb Shaps that prosecutors provide copies of audio statements
to police in the case.

Tkachik's next hearing is Aug. 28 when a jury trial may be scheduled.

Tkachik and his girlfriend, Engelica Elisa Castillo, 18, have
pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, neglect of a dependent,
battery and misdemeanor false informing in the death of 2-year-old Jada
Justice of Portage, who died last month of blunt force trauma.

The girl's body, encased in concrete, was discovered June 26 in a
swampy area near Otis in LaPorte County. Jada sustained numerous skull
fractures, court records state.

The girl's mother, Melissa Swiontek, told police she left her
daughter with Castillo, a cousin, on June 8 for a two-week stay at the
couple's rental home in the 3900 block of Missouri Street.

Castillo's jury trial is scheduled for Dec. 7.

The Dec. 7 jury trial of a Hobart woman charged
with murder and neglect of a dependent in the beating death of a
Portage toddler has been affirmed.

Engelica Elisa Castillo, 19, has pleaded not guilty to the charges
filed June 26 in the death of Jada Justice, who sustained numerous
skull fractures.

Defense attorney Lemuel Stigler and trial supervisor David Urbanski
told Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. they are
cooperating in accomplishing discovery before the case goes to trial.

The girl's mother, Melissa Swiontek, left Jada in Castillo's care June 8 for a two-week stay. Castillo is Swiontek's cousin.

On June 16, Castillo reported the child had been taken from her car
outside a gas station at Ridge Road and Louisiana Street in Gary after
she left the girl unattended while she went inside to buy cigarettes
and bottled water.

The statement by Castillo prompted a massive search for the girl
that ended June 25 when Castillo's boyfriend and co-defendant, Timothy
John Tkachik, led authorities to a swampy, wooded area near Otis where
Jada's body was found encased in cement.

Tkachik, 23, of Hobart, also charged with murder and neglect of a dependent, is scheduled for a hearing Sept. 18.

Prosecutors announced today that they will
seek a sentence of life without parole for Engelica Castillo, the
babysitter charged with murder in the death of two-year-old Jada
Justice of Portage, Ind.
Castillo, 19, and her boyfriend, Timothy Tkachik, 24, both of
Hobart, are charged with murder, neglect of a dependent, battery and
false informing. The child died of blunt force trauma in June,
authorities said.

The child's mother told police she left Jada with Castillo for a two-week
stay, according to Lake County, Ind., Prosecutor Bernard A. Carter.
On June 18, Castillo told police she left Jada in the car at a Gary
gas station when she went inside to get milk, and that when she came
out the girl was gone, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. On
June 25, Tkachik led investigators to a site in LaPorte, where the
child's body was found burned and encased in concrete, the statement
said.
Castillo's trial is set for December. Tkachik faces a maximum of 65
years in prison. Both are being held in the Lake County Jail without
bond.

Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. is considering a
request by defense attorney Lemuel Stigler to order the county to
appropriate $72,000 for an array of experts to help him defend accused
child killer Engelica Castillo.


Castillo, 19, of Hobart, faces
life in prison without parole if convicted of murder in the death of
2-year-old Jada Justice of Portage. Typically, those trials have a
guilt phase and a penalty phase during which mitigation evidence would
be presented.

In a motion seeking public dollars to hire defense experts, Stigler
is seeking $12,000 for a pathologist who would examine injuries on the
toddler's body, which was found encased in cement on June 25 in rural
LaPorte County.

Stigler also wants $8,000 to hire a psychologist to examine the
defendant, who had been raped at least three times before she turned
15, he said, and a psychopharmacologist, at a cost of $12,000, to
determine the effects of Castillo's drug use.

In addition, Stigler said in his written motion he has observed what
appear to be "significant mental health issues" in Castillo and is
asking that he be allowed to explore those through the services of a
psychiatrist, neurologist, neuropsychologist and radiologist for a
total of $34,000.

Finally, Stigler wants to hire a mitigation investigator at a cost of $6,000.

Stefaniak, noting the county's dire financial straits, with layoffs
and budget cuts ordered, said he needed time to consider the request.
He said it is projected that over the next two years, it could cost $4
million to $5 million to prosecute pending death penalty and life
without parole cases.

Earlier this week, Stefaniak heard a request for a mitigation expert
for Kevin Isom of Gary, who faces the death penalty if convicted of the
murders of his wife and two stepchildren. Attorneys representing Isom
said experts they have contacted charge $80 to $140 an hour and could
log 1,000 hours on that case.

Meanwhile, Stefaniak granted a request by trial supervisor David
Urbanski to have Castillo submit to major case prints, or inked prints
of her entire hand, and a handwriting sample, both of which will be
compared to evidence in the case.

The next hearing date is Nov. 20.