Crystal Lake man dies weeks after release from prison for drug-induced homicide

A Crystal Lake man convicted of drug-induced homicide died last week, less than two months after he was released from prison.

Jeffrey J. Hauck, 39, was found dead on Jan. 30 in Crystal Lake and an autopsy was performed the next day, McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said in an email to the Northwest Herald. A toxicology report is pending. Rein did not release any further details on cause of death.

“The only thing I can say is that his death is under investigation at this time,” he said.

Hauck was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2019 in connection with the overdose death of his disabled girlfriend. Stephanie Phillippi, 32, of Crystal Lake, died March 5, 2019, after she injected drugs that contained both heroin and fentanyl, court records state.

Hauck was released from prison on Dec. 6 after serving five years of his nine-year sentence, and was due to be on parole for three more years, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

In handing down that nine-year sentence in 2019, McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt said Hauck had been in drug treatment programs four times, two of which were when he was younger than 18. Although Wilbrandt said he doesn’t believe that Hauck intended for Phillippi to die, “his actions led to a death, and he has to pay for that death.”

In a victim impact statement from Phillippi’s mother, Hope Koidahl, read aloud in court by another family member, Koidahl said her daughter fought “a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis,” with only Tylenol to treat the pain until she was 18 years old. After undergoing a double lung transplant, her doctor prescribed opioid painkillers and Hauck, himself an addict, “preyed on Stephanie.”

“There is an emptiness and sorrow now that cannot be filled,” Koidahl’s statement read.

Hauck made multiple efforts to reverse or lower his sentencing, including filing a petition to the appellate court in 2022, which was denied.

Two other people were charged in connection to Phillippi’s death. Kane E. Kellett, 40, of Crystal Lake, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019 for possession of heroin, while Melissa R. Ohlson, 47, of Woodstock, was sentenced to two years probation in 2020 for possession of heroin, according to court records.