People v. Swart

              No. 2--04--0417 filed: 12/29/06
_________________________________________________________________________________
IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
SECOND DISTRICT
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
OF ILLINOIS, ) of Du Page County.
)
Plaintiff-Appellee, )
)
v. ) No. 01--CF--1453
)
JACQUELYN A. SWART, ) Honorable
) Kathryn E. Creswell,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding.
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JUSTICE BYRNE delivered the opinion of the court:
A jury found defendant, Jacquelyn Swart, guilty of the first-degree murder of a 14-month-old
girl, Alexandra Pirkins (Alex). See 720 ILCS 5/9--1(a)(2) (2004). The trial court imposed a 35-year
prison term. The State's theory of the case is that Alex succumbed to "shaken baby syndrome" while
in defendant's care. Defendant denies shaking Alex, and at trial, she attempted to introduce evidence
that Alex suffered an "undetected injury" during the days preceding her death.
On appeal, defendant argues that (1) the State's medical experts were not credible and (2) the
prosecutor committed reversible error by suggesting during closing argument that defendant abused
Alex not only on the date of her death but also five days earlier. Notably, at trial, defendant neither
challenged the admissibility of the State's expert testimony pursuant to Frye v. United States, 293 F.
1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), nor objected to the prosecutor's comments. We affirm.
FACTS