BIANCA STARR - 3 yo - Marion IL

Marion IL ---- A Williamson County mother has been found guilty but mentally ill in
the first-degree murder of her 3-year-old daughter, a jury ruled Tuesday.
Karrae Starr, 20, who was accused of killing her daughter, Bianca, by
suffocation, faces 20 to 60 years in prison on the conviction. The case, which
was presided over by Judge Phillip Palmer, began last week after wrapped today
after only a couple hours of deliberation.
The case is being heard in Williamson County Circuit Court with Judge Phillip
Palmer presiding. Jury selection began Tuesday and concluded about noon
Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Starr covered the mouth and nose of her daughter with her
hand, ultimately causing the child's death by asphyxiation. The child was in bed
at the time.
Starr was represented by Public Defender Larry Broeking.

A Williamson County judge has sentenced a southern Illinois woman to 32
years in prison after she was found guilty but mentally ill in the death
of her 3-year-old daughter.
Williamson County Circuit Judge Phillip Palmer sentenced
20-year-old Karrae Starr of Herrin on Wednesday. Prosecutors asked that
Starr be sentenced to 50 years and defense attorneys had requested 20
years. Starr was charged with first-degree murder in the
September 2008 death of Bianca Starr. Prosecutors argue that
Starr covered her daughter's mouth and nose with the intent to kill her.
Herrin police later found an unresponsive Bianca while responding to a
911 call from an apartment, and the girl was later pronounced dead at a
hospital.