Oct 15, 2007 6:41 pm US/Central
Trial Set To Begin In Failed Suicide Attempt
Woman Said She Was Trying To Kill Herself When She Slammed Into Car In Traffic, Killing 3
SKOKIE, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Jeanette Sliwinski is accused of slamming her car into another vehicle in a failed suicide attempt, killing three people. She said she had not intended to kill the men.
CBS
The trial of a suburban woman accused of killing three men with her car in a failed suicide attempt is set to begin Tuesday.
As CBS 2 North Suburban Bureau Chief Katie McCall reports, her glamorous pictures show a woman anxious to be noticed, but Jeanette Sliwinski's lawyer says the kind of anxiety his client has experienced is not the stuff of fashion photos.
Attorney Tom Breen says Sliwinski, a former model and exotic dancer, was mentally ill when she slammed her car into the vehicle in front of her.
"We believe the evidence is going to show that Jeanette Sliwinski, on July 14th, was legally insane when this accident occurred and I think we're all going to have to sit back and listen to the evidence with an open mind," Breen said.
Breen asked for a bench trial instead of a jury trial for his client, who remains in custody.
Sliwinski is charged with murder in the deaths of three local musicians. Police say she slammed her car into the three in 2005. She was 23 at the time and told officers she was trying to kill herself, not the victims.
The men, 35-year-old John Glick, 29-year-old Douglas Meis and 39-year-old Michael Dahlquist were on their lunch break together when the incident occurred.
Sliwinski's family said she had been taking anti-psychotic drugs as well as medication for depression. Her relatives left the courthouse with no comment Monday.
Friends of the three victims have held benefits in their memory and say they were "talented, passionate artists." Their photos and videos are featured on a Web site for the band The Negligents.
Sliwinski's lawyer would not say why his client waved her right to a trial by jury, but he did say he was confident the judge would agree with his claim that Sliwinski was insane on the day of the crash.
(CBS 2 and the Lake County News-Sun are news partners covering stories in the north suburbs. Send story tips to tips@cbs2chicago.com. (© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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