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http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/12/19/151724.shtml

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'Monstrous' Killer Mom Guilty
NewsMax.com Wires
Thursday, Dec. 20, 2001
CHICAGO – A jury of six men and six women Wednesday convicted a former nurse
of murdering her three children.
Marilyn Lemak smothered the kids after tucking them into bed in March 1999.

The verdict came after nine hours of deliberations, following three weeks of
testimony and four hours of closing arguments before Judge George Bakalis.
Deliberations began Tuesday afternoon in suburban Wheaton, Ill.

Prosecutors described Mrs. Lemak, 44, as vengeful, out to "inflict the most
pain possible" on her estranged husband, Dr. David Lemak, because he had
become involved with another woman.

In closing arguments Tuesday, even defense attorney Jack Donahue called the
killings "despicable and monstrous acts" and referred to the children as
three angels and He said Mrs. Lemak was clinically depressed and thought she
was sending her children to a better place.

"Marilyn Lemak, as she sits there, remains trapped in the wreckage of her own
mind," Donahue said in closing arguments. "We're not asking you to exonerate
her. You must realize Marilyn Lemak will always remain unextricated from the
unimaginable nightmare that she created by her own hands."

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett argued that Mrs. Lemak was
sane. He said she was full of "self-pity" and anger at her estranged husband
for starting to date while their divorce was still pending. He said her claim
that depression made her kill was an insult to the millions who suffer from
clinical depression.

Nicholas, 7, Emily, 6, and Thomas, 3, were fed Ativan-laced peanut butter and
then smothered with her hands on March 4, 1999.

The verdict was greeted quietly. Mrs. Lemak, who has gone from 160 pounds at
the time of the killings to barely 100 pounds now, looked down at her feet.
Her ex-husband looked down and never looked at her.

Her parents cried, and her sister buried her head.

Her family had been hoping for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity
or guilty but mentally ill. Her father, Bill Morrissey, after closing
arguments Tuesday, said he hoped his daughter would receive psychiatric help,
not just punishment.

The conviction of first-degree murder means Mrs. Lemak could face a death
sentence.

After the verdict, an emotional Dr. Lemak said at a news conference that he
had not decided whether he would like to see his ex-wife sentenced to death.

"Justice isn't served in this world," he said. "And our attempts to find a
way to deal with people who take other people's lives is a problem for all of
us as a society to figure out. As of now, I don't have a right or wrong
answer."

In his first public comments on the case, Dr. Lemak said he never saw the
murders coming and in fact thought his ex-wife, in the days before the
killings, had finally accepted that their marriage was over.

"I loved Lyn," he said. "She made choices throughout the last years of our
marriage ... that took her to where she is now. I think it's helpful to
understand ... every one of us has the potential to do terrible things. If we
can accept that possibility ... and simply say no, then we can live our lives
well."

Shortly after the murders, he said he wondered "why didn't she take me? Then
I began to realize she had a reason for not taking me."

Holding up a picture of himself and his children, a tearful Dr. Lemak told
reporters, "Certainly one of my regrets is that I won't get to see the impact
on the world they could have made."

Before reaching their verdict, jurors sought transcripts of some of the
psychiatric testimony, but decided to forego the documents after learning it
would take four hours for them to be produced.

"The verdict reflects the true facts of this case," Birkett said, calling the
defendant's actions an "act of revenge and hatred."

"When innocent children are injured or killed to exact revenge, those
responsible must be held accountable under the law."

Birkett said no decision has yet been made on whether to seek the death
penalty. Post-trial motions are scheduled on Feb. 13.



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