July trial scheduled for Oregon mom accused of killing her 7-year-old son in 2021

OREGON – A July jury trial has been scheduled for an Oregon woman accused of killing her 7-year-old son in 2021.

Sarah Safranek, 37, who is facing five counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery in the February 2021 death of her 7-year-old son, Nathaniel Burton, appeared in court Tuesday with her attorneys, public defenders Michael O’Brien and Kathleen Isley.

Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock suggested the trial be set for the week of July 8. Isley concurred.

Judge John Redington set the trial for July 8-12 with a final pretrial hearing date for 3 p.m., July 3. He ordered all pretrial motions to be filed by April 22 with responses due by May 6.

He said arguments on any pretrial motions would be heard at 1 p.m. May 17.

Safranek has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been held in the Ogle County Correctional Center since her arrest on $2 million bond in April 2021.

She appeared in court in person on Tuesday wearing handcuffs and shackles in an orange jumpsuit issued to prisoners.

On Nov. 3, 2022, Redington ruled that Safranek was fit to stand trial after reviewing a mental health evaluation requested by the defense.

Defense attorneys asked Redington to approve an additional expert to “review and evaluate mental health records” of Safranek, including her condition at the time of the alleged crime. They argued that extensive mental health records were provided by the state and revealed a “substantial history of mental health issues, mental illness and related services.”

Redington only agreed to have Jayne Braden review Safranek’s history of “mental health issues.” Braden, a forensic and clinical psychologist in Sycamore, was the court-appointed expert who conducted Safranek’s first evaluation when she was charged.

In October 2023, O’Brien filed a motion seeking Safranek’s release from jail under the SAFE-T Act because of her “inability” to post the required 10%, or $200,000, of the $2 million bond. The court found Safranek to be indigent in 2021 after she filed affidavits regarding her finances.

The law eliminates cash bail and requires that a defendant be released unless a judge rules that the defendant is a likely flight risk or poses too much of a threat to one person or the community to allow release.

Safranek has claimed that she has mental and physical issues that are not being treated properly at the jail and in a previous motion, her attorneys argued she was not getting sufficient medical attention while in custody.

Prosecutors argued against Safranek’s release, saying that she is a danger to the Ogle County community and has “a history of substance abuse and psychiatric issues,” among other things.

On Tuesday, Redington again denied her release, saying that the charges against Safranek are detainable offenses.

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

Court records indicate that an autopsy showed the boy also had a ruptured liver.

Safranek was arrested April 21, 2021, and indicted May 4, 2021. She pleaded not guilty May 6, 2021.

According to records obtained by Shaw Local News Network in a Freedom of Information Act request, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services 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.