No. 1-06-3528
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Notably, other courts in this state have affirmed murder
convictions where medical evidence shows the victim died of
subsequently acquired pneumonia. See Gulliford, 86 Ill. App. 3d
at 239, 242 (holding the defendants' actions of striking the
victim on the head with a metal pipe set in motion a chain of
events eventually culminating in the victim's death of pneumonia
five days later while recovering from brain surgery where expert
medical testimony established the pneumonia was "probably" caused
by the victim's comatose state that resulted from his head
wound); see also Reader, 26 Ill. 2d at 213 (affirming the
defendant's murder conviction where medical evidence showed he
died of pneumonia that he contracted while recovering in the
hospital from a gunshot wound).
The defendant emphasizes the prolonged time period between
Ruiz's shooting in 1995 and his death in 2001 to challenge the
proof of causation. While this case differs substantially from
the above cases based on the length of time between the
defendant's criminal acts and the victim's death, we know of no
authority holding that a lengthy passage of time, standing alone,
breaks the causal chain. See People v. Kennedy, 150 Ill. App. 3d
319, 324, 501 N.E.2d 1004 (1986) (a 5½ day period between the
victim's stabbing and his death "without more," is insufficient
to relieve the defendant from responsibility for having stabbed
the victim to death). In fact, Brown, the case most relied on by
the defendant, states "[t]he existence of a time interval between
