A request could soon be made to remove Geneva murder suspect Julia Gutierrez from suicide watch at the Kane County Jail, her attorney told a judge Wednesday.
More Top Picks Reviews
Gutierrez, 53, has been held without bail since her January arrest in the death of her husband, Eduardo. Geneva police went to the couple’s Crissey Avenue home Jan. 28 for a well-being check when they discovered Gutierrez unconscious from an apparent suicide attempt and her husband dead. Gutierrez is accused of giving him a smoothie laced with a lethal dose of sleeping pills, according to prosecutors.
Gutierrez was placed on suicide watch at a bond hearing in February. She has worn a green jail jumpsuit – indicating she has been segregated from the general population – during subsequent court appearances, including Wednesday. Her attorney, public defender Julia Yetter, previously mentioned that Gutierrez’s grooming habits were limited because of suicide watch restrictions.
On Wednesday, Yetter told Judge D.J. Tegeler that she is in contact with mental health officials at the jail about a re-evaluation of Gutierrez. That information would be the basis for a request to modify Gutierrez’s bond to have her taken off suicide watch. Tegeler scheduled an April 21 preliminary hearing, but Yetter could seek an earlier court date.
Prosecutors have said the murder allegations against Gutierrez bear resemblance to a 2002 uncharged incident in which authorities said she put pills in her husband’s milk shake. Geneva police recently described the 2002 case as “currently under investigation” to deny a Freedom of Information request seeking reports from the incident.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News