Trial postponed for mother accused of killing autistic daughter
<p align="justify">The trial of a Morton mother accused of suffocating her autistic daughter will be postponed until next month, a judge ruled Monday.
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<p align="justify">Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of Karen McCarron, but a request by the prosecution to postpone the trial was granted in Tazewell County Circuit Court by Judge Stephen Kouri.
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<p align="justify">Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Johnson said last week the postponement was needed to review a mental fitness report conducted by a medical expert for the defense.
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<p align="justify">The report was given to the prosecution four days before the trial was supposed to start, Johnson said.
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<p align="justify">State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said the report from the defense claims McCarron was insane at the time of the incident.
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<p align="justify">An insanity defense essentially says McCarron committed the crime, but should not be held criminally responsible for the crime, Umholtz said.
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<p align="justify">A defendant can't raise an insanity defense without also admitting to committing the crime, Umholtz said.
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<p align="justify">In a videotaped interview, McCarron told police she took daughter Katherine to her mother's house and let her play before suffocating her with a plastic bag. She told police the child died within about two minutes.
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<p align="justify">Jury selection is now scheduled to begin Jan. 2 and two pre-trial meetings are scheduled for Dec. 13 and Dec. 31.
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<p align="justify">The prosecution also intends to have its own medical expert interview McCarron.
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<p align="justify">Johnson said the prosecution can have its medical expert's report completed by the first week of January at the latest.
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<p align="justify">Kouri said both sides met in his chambers Sunday and discussed the new dates for the trial that has now been postponed six times.
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<p align="justify">McCarron's previous defense attorneys and current attorney Marc Wolfe received the five previous postponements. Kouri recently took a firm stand against postponing the trial any more for the defense, saying Wolfe was using stall tactics to delay the case.
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<p align="justify">Wolfe agreed to the new dates Monday in a conference telephone call, while McCarron's appearance was waived. They both are scheduled to be present in court during the Dec. 13 meeting.
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<p align="justify">McCarron, a former pathologist, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of obstructing justice and one count of concealment of a homicidal death and is free on $1 million bond.
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<p align="center">Kevin Sampier can be reached at (309) 346-5300 or ksampier@pjstar.com.