An Oregon woman charged with killing her 7-year-old son in 2021 made her second appearance in front of a new judge Wednesday, Oct. 29.

Sarah Safranek, 38, and her attorney Ogle County Public Defender Kathleen Isley, appeared before Associate Judge Anthony Peska for a pretrial hearing following an Oct. 8 hearing in which Isley argued for a different judge to proceed over Safranek’s hearings.

That effort was denied by Ogle County Chief Judge John “Ben” Roe, who ruled that Peska would remain as the presiding judge.

Safranek is accused of suffocating 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.

Isley filed a defense motion in September arguing that Safranek could not receive a fair trial if Peska remained as the presiding judge.

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

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

The Oct. 8 hearing was just the third time in more than a year that Safranek had appeared in court, as some pretrial rulings made by Redington were under appeal.

Peska only presided over one hearing for Safranek, on Sept. 17, 2025, when the motion for a substitute judge was made.

Isley had argued that Safranek’s case should be assigned to another judge and that the motion asking for the substitution was timely due to the monthslong delay, as the appeal was pending.

She said the trial would not have been done before Redington retired, and no matters could be heard while rulings were under appeal.

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

Isley said 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.

Roe disagreed, basing his decision to deny the motion after reviewing case law.

On Wednesday, Isley asked for another continuance. Leisten did not object.

Safranek’s next court appearance is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 12.

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

Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock filed that 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 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 he reviewed a mental health evaluation requested by the defense.

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