Trial pushed back for mother of children who died in car trunk

SOUTH BEND – A New Carlisle woman indicted for leaving her two young boys to suffocate in the hot trunk of a car was in court on Tuesday.

In May, 23-year-old Jacqueline Wilk was indicted by a Grand Jury on two counts of neglect of a dependent stemming from the June 2011 deaths of her two sons, Issac Dunner, 2, and Dominick Wilk, 4.

Wilk appeared Tuesday before Superior Court Judge John Marnocha when the Defense filed a motion to suppress evidence. A hearing on the motion has been set for November 21.

The Defense also asked the judge to delay the trial, which was originally set for October 29.

Over the state’s objection, Judge Marnocha granted the continuance and set Wilk’s trial for February 4, 2013.

Isaac and Dominick died after being found shut in the trunk of a car at their home on Ada Drive.

The indictment charged, “(Wilk) did knowingly place (Isaac and Dominick) in a situation that endangered the life or health” by allowing the boys “to be in an environment with access to dangerous conditions … and then failing to provide adequate supervision.”

Wilk found the boys around 3 p.m. unresponsive after being locked in the trunk of a gray 2000 Chevy Malibu sitting in the driveway of the home she shared with her mother and stepfather on a day when temperatures reached a high of 85 degrees.

Police responded to her 911 call and performed CPR on the boys at the scene while Wilk was heard crying and screaming, according to neighbors’ accounts.

Both boys, who were half-brothers, were rushed to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

Isaac was pronounced dead later that afternoon, June 17.

Dominick died the next day.

Each count of neglect of a dependent is a Class A felony that carries a maximum 50 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.