'Monstrous' Killer Mom Guilty

Marilyn Lemak smothered the kids after tucking them into bed in March 1999.

The verdict came after nine hours of deliberations, following three weeks of testimony and four hours of closing arguments before Judge George Bakalis. Deliberations began Tuesday afternoon in suburban Wheaton, Ill.

Prosecutors described Mrs. Lemak, 44, as vengeful, out to "inflict the most pain possible" on her estranged husband, Dr. David Lemak, because he had become involved with another woman.

In closing arguments Tuesday, even defense attorney Jack Donahue called the killings "despicable and monstrous acts" and referred to the children as three angels. He said Mrs. Lemak was clinically depressed and thought she was sending her children to a better place.

"Marilyn Lemak, as she sits there, remains trapped in the wreckage of her own mind," Donahue said in closing arguments. "We're not asking you to exonerate her. You must realize Marilyn Lemak will always remain unextricated from the unimaginable nightmare that she created by her own hands."

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett argued that Mrs. Lemak was sane. He said she was full of "self-pity" and anger at her estranged husband for starting to date while their divorce was still pending. He said her claim that depression made her kill was an insult to the millions who suffer from clinical depression.

Nicholas, 7, Emily, 6, and Thomas, 3, were fed Ativan-laced peanut butter and then smothered with her hands on March 4, 1999.

The verdict was greeted quietly. Mrs. Lemak, who has gone from 160 pounds at the time of the killings to barely 100 pounds now, looked down at her feet. Her ex-husband looked down and never looked at her.

Her parents cried, and her sister buried her head.

Her family had been hoping for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill. Her father, Bill Morrissey, after closing arguments Tuesday, said he hoped his daughter would receive psychiatric help, not just punishment.

The conviction of first-degree murder means Mrs. Lemak could face a death sentence.

After the verdict, an emotional Dr. Lemak said at a news conference that he had not decided whether he would like to see his ex-wife sentenced to death.

"Justice isn't served in this world," he said. "And our attempts to find a way to deal with people who take other people's lives is a problem for all of us as a society to figure out. As of now, I don't have a right or wrong answer."

In his first public comments on the case, Dr. Lemak said he never saw the murders coming and in fact thought his ex-wife, in the days before the killings, had finally accepted that their marriage was over.

"I loved Lyn," he said. "She made choices throughout the last years of our marriage ... that took her to where she is now. I think it's helpful to understand ... every one of us has the potential to do terrible things. If we can accept that possibility ... and simply say no, then we can live our lives well."

Shortly after the murders, he said he wondered, "Why didn't she take me? Then I began to realize she had a reason for not taking me."

Holding up a picture of himself and his children, a tearful Dr. Lemak told reporters, "Certainly one of my regrets is that I won't get to see the impact on the world they could have made."

Before reaching their verdict, jurors sought transcripts of some of the psychiatric testimony, but decided to forego the documents after learning it would take four hours for them to be produced.

"The verdict reflects the true facts of this case," Birkett said, calling the defendant's actions an "act of revenge and hatred."

"When innocent children are injured or killed to exact revenge, those responsible must be held accountable under the law."

Birkett said no decision has yet been made on whether to seek the death penalty. Post-trial motions are scheduled on Feb. 13.