Judge asked to rule on experts for Sarah Safranek’s defense

OREGON – An Ogle County judge has yet to rule on allowing defense attorneys to obtain medical experts to help them prepare for the trial of an indigent woman accused of killing her son in 2021.

Sarah Safranek, 36, of Oregon, appeared via video conference from the Ogle County Correctional Center on April 26 for a status hearing. That hearing was scheduled after she refused to appear in court for an April 5 pretrial hearing.

A motion hearing has now been set for Wednesday, May 18 at 2 p.m. in front of Judge John Redington where Safranek’s attorneys, Ogle County Public Defender Kathleen Isley and Assistant Public Defender Michael O’Brien, are expected to ask the court to appoint experts to aid in their client’s defense “and/or reimburse defense costs.”

Safranek has pleaded not guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery for the suffocation death of her 7-year-old son, Nathaniel Burton, in February 2021. An autopsy showed the boy also suffered a ruptured liver.

Nathaniel, a first-grade student at Oregon Elementary School, was found unresponsive and not breathing in his bed at his home in the 400 block of South 10th Street about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 17, 2021. He was pronounced dead at KSB Hospital in Dixon later that day.

Safranek was arrested two months later, April 21, and indicted May 4, 2021. She pleaded not guilty May 6, 2021, and remains in the Ogle County Correctional Center on a $2 million bond.

In the motion, Isley and O’Brien say Safranek’s right to due process “requires the appointment of and/or use of one or more experts to review certain discovery materials and/or provide testimony”.

They argue there are “factual issues regarding the manner and cause of death” alleged by the prosecution and Nathaniel’s autopsy report.

“More specifically, defense counsel asserts that the injuries and/or trauma allegedly observed in the autopsy will be presented directly or indirectly as evidence to confirm the allegation that the death was cause by the defendant,” reads the motion. “Upon information and belief, just cause exists to believe that the alleged injuries and/or trauma were caused by intervening factors, including the conduct of other individuals at or near the time of the death of the alleged victim.”

Isely and O’Brien say it is necessary for an expert to review the autopsy on behalf of Safranek to assist them in exploring “this issue and contest opinions, conclusions, and arguments made therefrom” and provide testimony.

The motion suggests that Shiping Bao, a licensed physician and certified forensic pathologist, be secured. According to the motion, Bao is a proven expert witness in cases involving “infant death, suspicious asphyxia death, and accused physical assaults.”

They are also asking the court approve an additional expert to “review and evaluate mental health records and condition” of Safranek including her condition at the time of the alleged crime.

“As part of discovery, extensive mental health records of the defendant were provided by the state,” reads the motion. " Such records reveal a substantial history of mental health issues, mental illness and related services.”

Isley and O’Brien say they believe the prosecution will present those records–whether directly or indirectly– to prove Safranek committed the alleged crimes.

“These mental health issues and/or mental illness are likely exculpatory or mitigating evidence,” the motion states. “Defense counsel asserts they cannot properly address this evidence without a psychiatric evaluation and use of an expert.”

They argue that such an expert would be able to provide and “independent review on behalf of the defendant and potentially be used as an expert witness” and have suggested Cara Angelotta of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine be hired.

They claim, in the motion, that Safranek is indigent and unable to pay fees that are needed for the services of such experts.

The motion says Bao charges $5,000 as a reduced flat fee for public defender’s offices. According to a fee schedule included in the defense motion, Angelotta charges $500 an hour. The motion also suggests a board certified psychoanalyst and child and adolescent psychoanalyst is needed to perform services and suggests an expert may also be needed to review DNA evidence for the defense.

The overall cost of the evaluations/consultation for the experts is dependent on the time needed to complete the assessments, the motion states.

Isley and O’Brien conclude the experts are necessary to provide Safranek with a fair trial and ask the court require the State of Illinois or Ogle County to pay for those services.

On Nov. 3, 2022, Redington ruled Safranek fit to stand trial after reviewing a mental health evaluation requested by the defense. Since that hearing, Safranek has appeared in court numerous times, sometimes in person and sometimes via video conferencing from the Ogle County Correctional Center.

She faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted of murder and six to 30 years if convicted of aggravated battery.

According to records obtained by Shaw Local News Network in a Freedom of Information Act request, the Department of Children and Family Services had visited the Safranek/Burton household about a dozen times over two years, following up on five reports of suspected abuse and neglect.

Each time, DCFS closed the case after finding no indications of parental wrongdoing.

Nathaniel was 4 when the allegations first surfaced.

The case is being prosecuted by Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock.