An Ogle County judge will decide in October if an Oregon woman accused of suffocating her 7-year-old son in 2021 will get a new judge to preside over her case as it continues to move through the court system.

Ogle County Chief Judge John “Ben” Roe reserved ruling on a motion made by Sarah Safranek, 38, and her attorney, Ogle County Public Defender Kathleen Isley, asking to replace Associate Judge Anthony Peska.

Safranek is accused of killing her son, Nathaniel Burton, in the family’s Oregon home in February 2021. She is charged with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. She was arrested April 21, 2021, was indicted May 4, 2021, and pleaded not guilty May 6, 2021.

She has been held in the Ogle County Jail since her arrest.

On Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, Isley reiterated her argument made in a Sept. 12 motion that Peska is “so prejudiced against her [Safranek] that she cannot receive a fair trial.”

Assistant Ogle County State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten argued the state’s position that Isley’s motion was “untimely” and had missed the 10-day window to ask for a substitute judge.

Judge John Redington was the judge for Safranek’s case, presiding over many hearings and delivering pre-trial rulings before he retired in 2024.

Roe entered an order in July 2024 assigning the case to Peska upon Redington’s retirement.

Thursday’s hearing was the just the second time in more than a year that Safranek has appeared in court as some pre-trial rulings, made by Redington, were under appeal. Peska has only presided over one hearing for Safranek, on Sept. 17, 2025, when the motion for a substitute judge was made.

On Thursday, Isley argued that Safranek’s case should assigned to another judge and that the motion asking for the substitution was timely due to the months-long delay as the appeal was pending.

“Our position is that this [the motion] is timely,” argued Isley. “It’s not realistic that the trial would have been done before Judge Redington retired. The appellate court had jurisdiction. We could not have had matters heard.”

She argued that Peska had never ruled on any matters in relation to the case, making the state’s argument that case law supports a 10-day filing limit inapplicable.

Leisten disagreed. “The reassignment was July 25, 2024. ”It [the motion] should have been filed then."

Roe said he would consider all arguments and review case law, reserving his decision until 2:30 p.m. Oct. 8.

Safanek’s jury trial was removed from the court calendar in July 2024 following a motion by prosecutors who argued that some rulings made by Redington limited the evidence they wanted to present to jurors. They argued Redington’s decision had “impaired” their ability to proceed with first-degree murder charges.

Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock filed an appeal July 10, 2024, nine days after Redington ruled on several motions in limine filed by the defense and prosecutors.

Motions in limine determine whether certain evidence may be presented to the jury. They are commonly entered and argued before a trial begins, allowing evidentiary questions to be decided by the judge. Motions in limine in the Safranek case have been sealed and are not viewable to the public.

In June 2024, Redington listened to testimony and arguments regarding the motions and, after reviewing case law, limited the state’s ability to enter all internet searches and journal entries they said Safranek made. He also limited hearsay statements prosecutors said others made regarding domestic violence directed toward Nathaniel.

Redington removed Safranek’s scheduled jury trial date over the objection of Isley, and no court dates were set, pending the appeal process.

The appellate court issued its opinion July 25 and its mandate Sept. 4.

Nathaniel was a first-grade student at Oregon Elementary School. He was found unresponsive and not breathing at 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.

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 house 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.

Redington ruled in November 2022 that Safranek was fit to stand trial after reviewing a mental health evaluation requested by the defense.

Redington agreed with attorneys June 28, 2024, to exclude Safranek’s mental health records from being entered at the trial.