Prosecutors dismiss murder case against woman over infant’s 2003 death in Romeoville

Prosecutors dismissed a first-degree murder charge filed in 2004 that accuses a woman of shaking an infant to death in a Romeoville case that led to the woman filing a federal lawsuit over allegations of false charges and wrongful imprisonment.

On Wednesday, Judge Carmen Goodman signed an order that said prosecutors with Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow’s office received a finalized expert report from Dr. Thomas Bennett regarding the case against Jennifer Del Prete, 51.

Del Prete was indicted April 4, 2004, with shaking an infant named Isabella Zielinski while knowing such an act would create a strong probability of death or great bodily harm, thereby causing Isabella’s death. The child died Nov. 9, 2003.

“After careful consideration of the newly obtained expert opinion in conjunction with all the other physical and opinion evidence in this case, the people no longer believe they can sustain their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt in the matter,” Goodman’s court order said.

As a result, prosecutors motioned to drop the case against Del Prete, which Goodman granted. The case initially was set for a second trial Nov. 29.

When asked about the Bennett report, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Byrne said the reasons for the dismissal are outlined in the order, which states the dismissal as “based on an assessment of the overall physical and opinion evidence in the matter following the passage of time, of which the Bennett report was a part.”

“We will not be proving additional comments on this case at this time,” Byrne said.

On Sept. 29, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen Griffin submitted a supplemental physical evidence filing in Del Prete’s case that said a copy of the Bennett report was tendered to the defense.

Del Prete’s attorney, Patrick Blegen of the law firm Blegen & Garvey, said, “We are extremely pleased that the state dismissed the charges in this case.

“It has been a long time coming.”

On March 4, 2005, retired Will County Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes found Del Prete guilty of first-degree murder of Isabella and sentenced her to 20 years in prison.

Judge Sarah Jones, one of the original prosecutors on the Del Prete case, signed an official statement of facts after Policondriotes’ sentence that accused Del Prete of shaking Isabella, resulting in retinal hemorrhages, subdural hematoma and brain damage.

After an unsuccessful appeal and petition for post-conviction relief, Del Prete’s second petition for post-conviction relief was granted by Policandriotes on Aug. 29, 2016.

Del Prete’s conviction was vacated, and a new trial was ordered.

The second petition was based on the existence of a letter written by Romeoville Police Chief Ken Kroll, who investigated Isabella’s death, that was never tendered to the defense but uncovered by students with the Medill Justice Project at Northwestern University. The students obtained the letter through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Kroll’s letter, dated Nov. 10, 2003, said Dr. Jeff Harkey, a forensic pathologist who testified at Del Prete’s trial, questioned the diagnosis that Isabella died from injuries resulting from forceful shaking, a form of child abuse known as shaken baby syndrome.

On Aug. 24, 2017, Del Prete filed a lawsuit against the villages of Romeoville and Plainfield, Kroll and several others. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants conspired to frame Del Prete for Isabella’s death and that she was forced to spend almost a decade in prison as a result.

The proceedings in the lawsuit had been suspended until the criminal case against Del Prete concluded.