May 19, 2009 6:45 pm US/Central
Jury Rules Nun Not Guilty In Fatal Crash
GENEVA, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
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Marie Marot, 24, was found not guilty in the trial where she was accused of causing a 2007 fatal crash in Elgin.
Courtesy Sun-Times
A circuit court jury handed down a not guilty verdict late Tuesday afternoon in the trial of an area nun accused of causing a 2007 fatal crash in Elgin.
Testimony in the trial, which began Monday in 16th Judicial Circuit Court, has offered conflicting versions of what happened in the Oct. 7 accident in which a van driven by Sister Marie Myriam Marot collided with a car at Randall Road and Route 72. Marot, 24, a member of Fraternite de Notre Dame order in Marengo, was charged with disobeying a traffic control signal .
"The defendant ran the red light. That's the evidence you've heard from every single witness in this case," Assistant Kane County State's Attorney Jonathon McKey told the jury in his closing arguments today.
Defense attorney Donald Brewer countered in his closing arguments that "there is a presumption of innocence. The state just didn't do their job."
The defense has tried to lay the fault with the driver of the car, 17-year-old Alexis Pena, who Brewer contended ran a red light in an effort to get home before curfew after a night of partying.
"Three kids were out on a Saturday night the weekend before her birthday having a good time," he said. "But they were late, and in a hurry."
According to reports, Marot was driving south along Randall from the order's convent to its church on Chicago's West Side when her van collided with a Honda Civic traveling west on Route 72.
Sixteen-year-old Keith Forbes of Carpentersville died in the crash, which also injured Pena along with two other passengers.
On Friday, 16th Circuit Court Associate Judge Ron G. Matekaitis allowed Marot to continue wearing her religious attire for the trial, even though prosecutors had argued her appearance in that clothing could prejudice the jury.
Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Alex Bederka said last week the issue for the jury to decide was whether Marot violated the law, without focusing on who she is or what she was doing when the violation occurred.
"Marie Marot is on trial," he said. "She happens to be a nun."
The fact that Marot is a nun did have somewhat of an effect during jury selection earlier in the day. One potential juror was excused after admitting to having an "unfavorable opinion" about the Catholic Church.
If convicted, Marot could face a maximum fine of $1,000, but that could have impact on the outcome of a pending civil lawsuit filed by the Forbes family, according to Brewer.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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