A plea deal may be near for a Waukegan woman charged with murdering her 11-year-old daughter.
In court Monday, a prosecutor and defense attorney both said progress is being made toward a negotiated resolution to the case.
Nicholette R. Lawrence, 33, has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of first-degree murder. She is accused of striking her daughter, Raashanai Coley, in the stomach before she died in September 2014. Lawrence remains held in Lake County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail.
Waukegan police have said Lawrence admitted to striking the child, and that the resulting investigation and autopsy revealed additional evidence of abuse.
Defense Attorney Keith Grant, chief of special defense for the Lake County Public Defender’s Office, told Judge James Booras on Monday that “we’re likely going to need one more meeting” for a potential negotiated plea agreement. Assistant State’s Attorney Eric Kalata also told Booras the two sides were “meeting concerning a possible resolution” and were “making progress.”
As a result, Booras postponed a scheduled Feb. 21 trial date, moving it to April 11 if a trial is needed. The judge then set Lawrence’s next court date for March 7, when both sides are expected to report back on the negotiations. If a deal is reached, a plea could come at that time.
If convicted at trial, Lawrence could face life in prison.
Police were called to a Gillett Avenue home on Sept. 5, 2014, for a report of an unresponsive child. Lawrence told investigators she had struck her daughter in the stomach earlier that week, police said.
Raashanai was pronounced dead later that night at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. A preliminary autopsy showed the punch went through to her spine and caused a tear in her stomach. The coroner also found signs of malnutrition and evidence of past abuse, including scarring, bruises and malnutrition, authorities said.
The 11-year-old weighed only 60 pounds, and the condition of the home was found to be sub-standard when officers arrived with a search warrant after the death, police said.
The death shocked her Waukegan neighborhood, which held a block-wide bake sale to help pay for funeral expenses.
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