Oct 23, 2007 4:55 pm US/Central
Doctors Reveal Model's History Of Mental Problems
Defendant Treated For Psychotic Episode Weeks Before Deadly Accident
SKOKIE, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Jeannette Sliwinski is accused of slamming her car into another vehicle in an apparent failed suicide attempt, killing three people. She said she had not intended to kill the men.
CBS
Medical experts took the stand Tuesday at the murder trial of a model charged with killing three people in a car crash during an apparent failed suicide attempt.
As CBS 2 North Suburban Bureau Chief Katie McCall reports, the doctors came from opposite sides of the courtroom, one for the prosecution and one for the defense, but they both agreed Jeannette Sliwinksi had been treated for mental illness for years before the crash.
A psychiatrist who treated Sliwinski shortly before she hit and killed three people on July 14, 2005 in Niles, testified Tuesday at the Cook County Courthouse in Skokie. Dr. Lucyna Puszarkska said Sliwinski displayed symptoms of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, substance abuse and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. The doctor said Sliwinski told her: "I feel like I have an emptiness in my head."
Puszkarska said Sliwinski didn't consistently take her medication and admitted to occasionally using marijuana.
The doctor prescribed five different medications for Sliwinski including antidepressants, anti-psychotic drugs, and a stimulant.
A doctor testifying for the defense said the stimulant was inappropriate given Sliwinski's mental history.
"When given to someone with bipolar illness, it can make them manic, they're off to the races at that point," Dr. Lisa Rone said.
The defense witness also read from the hospital record showing Sliwinski was admitted to St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital on May 30, just weeks before the accident, during a psychotic episode.
"She is very restless, pacing, very paranoid, the word "paranoid" comes up several times," Rone read.
The doctor said Sliwinski's mental illness dates back to eighth grade. Records show she's been on and off of antidepressants since college. Other records read in court showed Sliwinski made a series of emergency calls to a crisis hotline. The last one was made just two days before the 25-year-old drove 87 miles per hour into the victims' car in an attempt to take her own life.
Sliwinski is charged with three counts of first-degree murder. If she's convicted on all three counts, she could face life in prison.
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