ISAAC DUNNER and DOMINICK WILK - 2 and 4 yo/ Accused: Mother; Jacqueline Wilk - New Carlisle IN

Mother of children who died in trunk trying to get evidence withheld from trial

By Kelli Stopczynski (kstopczynski@wsbt.com) WSBT TV
5:53 p.m. EST, January 11, 2013

Heartbreaking details emerged in court Friday from a New Carlisle mother whose two small children died after she found them in the trunk of her car.

Jacqueline Wilk’s attorney told St. Joseph County Judge John Marnocha the state shouldn’t be allowed to use statements she gave police or statements from her neighbors in her trial.

Defense Attorney Charles Lahey also argued a St. Joseph County Metro Homicide detective told Wilk’s stepfather she could only have her car back from evidence technicians in exchange for more interviews with Wilk and some of her family members.

Wilk, now 25, is facing two counts of felony neglect after she found her two-year-old son Isaac Dunner and four-year-old son Dominick Wilk unresponsive and locked in the trunk of her hot car around 3 p.m. on June 17, 2011 in the driveway of the home she shared with her mother and stepfather. The high temperature that day was 85 degrees.

Both boys died.

“A very big part of this case is who’s going to throw the first stone at this young lady,” Lahey told WSBT after court. “Every parent in the world has lost sight of their kids for a couple minutes.”

But deputy prosecuting attorney Mark Roule told the judge the statements Wilk willingly gave police on June 17 and four days after the incident on June 21 prove it wasn’t the first time the boys had slipped out of her sight or become trapped in the car.

“You’ll see the number of times she says they played in the car. It wasn’t just once or twice,” Roule said.

But Lahey countered those interviews should not be allowed because Metro Homicide officers never read Wilk her Miranda Rights letting her know she had a right to an attorney and never put her under arrest when she talked to them.

The young mother was not arrested until May 2012 – nearly one year after the incident happened – he pointed out, when a grand jury indicted her and the prosecutor’s office charged her.

Roule also said investigators interviewed at least two neighbors who saw Wilk’s children playing alone in the backyard near the swimming pool and in the front yard “a number of times.”

“We don’t even know what date that was or if there was an adult somewhere else observing them that [the neighbors] couldn’t see them,” Lahey told WSBT. “And we have half a dozen or more neighbors who say these were ordinary people and that they supervised the children and the children were happy, they were well cared for.”

Metro Homicide impounded Wilk’s car to inspect it and try and determine how the boys got into the car. Both Wilk and her stepfather, Ralph Young, testified lead investigator Galen Pelletier told them they would not get the car back unless the family went to Metro Homicide on June 21 to give another statement.

“I would never do that to anybody. My whole basis as a police officer is on integrity and in 17 years of experience I never would do that,” Pelletier countered on the witness stand.

Wilk also briefly testified about finding her children in the trunk, saying she carried them inside, called 911 and tried to perform CPR on them until a neighbor, who is also a paramedic, arrived and took over.

As she wiped away tears, Wilk told the judge she wanted to ride in one of the two ambulances to the hospital but was told by police there wasn’t enough room. Instead, a New Carlisle police officer drove Wilk and the father of one of her children to Memorial Hospital’s emergency room.

Marnocha said he will listen to both the 20 minute statement Wilk gave Metro Homicide detectives at the hospital on June 17 and the interview that happened at Metro Homicide on June 21.

He expects to make a ruling early next week about whether those statements should be allowed in Wilk’s trial. It is scheduled to begin February 4.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/wsbt-mother-of-children-who-died-in-trunk-trying-to-get-evidence-withheld-from-trial-20130111,0,2762024.story

Trial of mother accused of neglect under way

TOM MOOR South Bend Tribune

5:43 p.m. EST, February 4, 2013

SOUTH BEND — Did Jacqueline Wilk’s neglect lead to the deaths of her 2- and 4-year-old sons who died of hyperthermia after she found them locked in her car trunk?

Or is Wilk another victim of a tragic accident that she could not have prevented?

Those were the differing opinions during opening statements in Wilk’s trial, which began Monday.

Wilk, 25, is charged with felony neglect that resulted in the deaths of Isaac Dunner, 2, and Dominick Wilk, 4, who climbed into the trunk of Wilk’s car at their New Carlisle home in June 2011. Both boys later died at an area hospital.

Deputy prosecutor Mark Roule argued in his opening statement that the boys’ deaths were preventable because they were known to sneak out of the house and climb into the car and trunk on previous occasions.

“This has happened before,” Roule said. “All she had to do was lock the car.”

“Not addressing this situation is not an option,” he added. “We’re here today because this horrible situation should not have occurred.”

Roule said Wilk was downstairs while the children were upstairs at the time.

“The children were doing as they pleased,” he said.

Defense attorney Charles Lahey said Wilk did not put her children in a dangerous situation. She only let them watch cartoons upstairs while she was downstairs.

He added that Wilk even had the locks at their home changed recently so the boys wouldn’t sneak out.

When she had not heard from the children after about 20 minutes, she began looking for them before eventually finding them in the trunk and calling 911, Lahey said.

“The grief is overwhelming,” Lahey said. “She was broken-hearted. Yet the state will try to convince you that she either intended for the result or she didn’t care.”

Lahey said there were other dangerous items in the home, such as a stove and kitchen knives.

“They weren’t required to walk around in a bubble,” Lahey said.

Most of the first day of the trial consisted of choosing a jury in St. Joseph Superior Court with Judge John Marnocha presiding.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/sbt-trial-of-mother-accused-of-neglect-under-way-20130204,0,4530807.story

I have mixed feelings about this case. Sad that children had to die especially when it was avoidable. Never leave the children alone, always lock the car, always keep car keys from children. These could have prevented this. Is the mother guilty of murder, no. Abuse, maybe. Should she be charged, maybe. Some states will charge and consider this a crime others just an accident. This last summer a number of children were left in cars to die of heat. Some by their parents, some by care givers, some by day care people. Day cares should be held accountable since it their duty to keep kids safe. Whether the parents should be held accountable, I have mixed feelings. Some of these cases last year charges were filed like this one. While others no charges were filed.

Just six years ago on Februrary 5 little Ava Rosemeyer died from heat inside a car, she was only three and a half. She fought for several days but did not have a chance. She was in the car for only 30 minutes or less. Her mother thought she was with her grandfather. Her grandfather thought she was with her mother. Their normally locked car was unlocked. That's all it took and she was gone forever. Her mother was not charged but suffers to this day. Here's a few web pages that detail her story and more important the "Ava's Rules" that were created because of her.
http://www.sheyerosemeyerphotography.com/blog/superprincess/
http://avarosemeyer.memory-of.com/tributes.aspx
http://www.avasrule.com/avasrulepostcard.html

There are many ways a child can die in a car. This web site details many stories and dangers.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/

Keep your kids safe and spread the news about child safety.
William

Jacqueline Wilk in court again

By Taylor Paige Neff
Story Created: Feb 24, 2013 at 5:05 PM EST
Story Updated: Feb 25, 2013 at 11:00 AM EST

On Monday, Jacqueline Wilk, who was accused in connection to the death of her two sons, will be in court again.

Earlier this month, Wilk was on trial for neglect. But the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision, which led to a hung jury.

Wilk will appear again in court for her next hearing.

The New Carlisle mother was charged with two counts of neglect after her two and four-year-old boys snuck out of the house and locked themselves in her car trunk.

http://www.abc57.com/news/crime/Jacqueline-Wilk-in-court-again-192893781.html