Judge: More Time Needed For Accused Killer's Psych Exam
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (STMW) -- Five months to the day after she allegedly brutally killed her 6-month-old granddaughter, Alfreda Giedrojc found herself back in court Thursday.
The Oak Lawn woman, 62, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 6 slaying of her daughter's baby, Vivian Summers.
Police said Giedrojc was in her home in the 6600 block of 91st Street watching Vivian while her husband and the baby's father were across the street helping Giedrojc's son with a home improvement project. After the men left, Giedrojc first hit the baby with a sledgehammer she had placed in a closet the night before and then stabbed the infant with a carving knife, according to police.
On Thursday, the court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of Giedrojc was due, but Cook County Forensic Clinical Services needs more time to complete the testing, Circuit Court Judge Colleen Hyland said. The test results are due at Giedrojc's next court date on April 22.
Giedrojc's lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Michael Wilson, told Hyland that Forensic Clinical Services wants to talk with members of Giedrojc's family members to learn more about her background.
Giedrojc, a native of Poland, needed a Polish interpreter to translate the remarks of the Wilson and the judge during the brief hearing. No family members attended.
Afterward, Wilson and Assistant State's Attorney Michael Deeno agreed with the need to be thorough with Giedrojc's psych exam.
"It's a very complicated case. We have a dead child. You don't rush through these things," Wilson said. "You see the state isn't rushing us. ... We're not going to set any speed records in this case."
He said he's given Forensic Clinical Services a list of people to talk with.
"We have to give them (all our evidence), and they have to talk to everybody they feel is necessary," Wilson said.
Deeno said the request for more time to test Giedrojc is "not unusual. That's to be expected. Obviously, they want to do a proper and thorough job."
Hyland on Dec. 17 ordered the psychiatric evaluation of Giedrojc, but Forensics Clinical Services said it never got the order. So, the judge ordered it again on Jan. 29.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
