A 26-year-old Joliet woman who was convicted by a jury last month of involuntary manslaughter in the suffocation of a 9-month-old boy she was baby-sitting was sentenced Monday to 8 years in prison.
Although Erin Thurow wasn’t related to the child, Michael Mosotowski, a Will County judge agreed with prosecutors that she was a member of the boy’s household and thus qualified for a harsher penalty under law than if she were a stranger.
A change in state law in 1998 increased the penalty for involuntary manslaughter when a family member or household member is involved. The penalty rose to 3 to 14 years, up from 2 to 5 years.
Thurow and the boy’s mother, Michele Mostowski, were friends and roommates last February when the boy was smothered by Thurow, allegedly to stop the child from crying.
A Will County coroner’s inquest in May ruled the child’s death a homicide. The boy’s mother was at work when he was suffocated.
Assistant State’s Atty. Greg Smith argued for a sentence of 10 years.
Thurow’s attorney, Joseph Polito of Joliet, said he will ask Circuit Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak to reconsider the sentence on grounds that the sentencing law wasn’t intended to cover relationships like the one between his client and the boy’s mother.
Polito said he will seek to have Thurow sent to a boot camp program. He is scheduled to argue his case in Will County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
