| Advertisement |
|
|
A New Carlisle mother left her two young boys to die suffocating in the hot trunk of a car, prosecutors charged.
Jacqueline J. Wilk, 23, was indicted Friday on two counts of neglect of a dependent stemming from the deaths of her two sons, Isaac Dunner, 2, and Dominick Wilk, 4.
Both boys died after being found shut in the trunk of a car at their New Carlisle home on Ada Drive in June last year.
“(Wilk) did knowingly place (Isaac and Dominick) in a situation that endangered the life or health” by allowing the boys “to be in an environment with access to dangerous conditions … and then failing to provide adequate supervision,” the indictment charged.
The indictment came on the heels of a grand jury investigation that resulted in the charges being filed Thursday by the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office.
Wilk found the boys at about 3 p.m., unresponsive after being locked in the trunk of a gray 2000 Chevy Malibu sitting in the driveway of the home she shared with her mother and stepfather on a day when temperatures reached a high of 85 degrees.
Police responded to her 911 call and performed CPR on the boys at the scene while Wilk was heard crying and screaming, according to neighbors’ accounts.
Both boys — who were half-brothers — were rushed to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.
Isaac was pronounced dead later that afternoon, June 17.
Dominick died the next day.
Details at the time were sketchy, and it was unclear how the boys got into the trunk or how long they were inside.
How Wilk came to discover the boys shut in the trunk was “all part of the investigation,”
Lt. David Wells, assistant commander of the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide unit, said at the time.
A police source said Friday the charges against Wilk may be linked to cell phone records seized by investigators.
In addition to law enforcement officers from Metro Homicide and the New Carlisle Police Department, and officials from the St. Joseph County Family Violence Unit, the South Bend Medical Foundation and MedTox Laboratories, the indictment includes five representatives from Verizon Wireless listed by prosecutors as “state’s witnesses.”
A warrant for Wilk’s arrest was issued this week. Her bond was set at $100,000 corporate surety or $10,000 cash.
Wilk turned herself in at the St. Joseph County Jail on Friday, then was released after posting bond, according to a spokeswoman for the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office.
Each count of neglect of a dependent is a Class A felony that carries a maximum 50 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roule is prosecuting the case.
Staff writer Jeff Harrell:
jharrell@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6368