In Session “After a number of years, did you learn that Kitty and the defendant were getting a divorce?” “Yes … she agreed to have the marriage dissolved first, and then have the property settlement done later…it was very complicated with the distribution of the assets.” Judge Burmila strikes the second part of that answer. “Did you have a conversation about six weeks before the divorce?” Objection/Sustained. “Did you have a conversation with her about six weeks before her death, early to mid-January?” “Yes, I did … in the afternoon, in my house in Romeoville . . . she just showed up.” “And when she showed up, could you describe what her demeanor was?” “She was afraid, upset.” Objection/Overruled. “When she came over, what, who was present?” “Just me and her.” “Did she speak to you?” “Yes . . . I asked her what was wrong, and then she said Drew had told her he was going to kill her; she was not going to make it to the divorce settlement. She was not going to get his pension or the kids. That’s why she was upset . . . she made promise over and over I would take care of her boys . . . over and over she said it, ‘Take care of my boys’ . . . she brought in a briefcase, looked like a suitcase; she told me to get it. She had her important papers in there . . . she kept it in the back of her SUV, and I should look for it right there. If anything happened, I should grab that; any important papers she had would be in there.”
In Session Early on the morning of Tuesday, March 2, Drew called her. “He said, ‘Kitty’s dead. She drowned in the tub.’ It just wasn’t registering. I just kept asking, ‘What?’ and I got a little hysterical after that. I said I’d come over, and he said, ‘Don’t bother. Because by the time you get here, she’ll be gone.’ At first, I screamed a lot, and then I thought I should call somebody, so I did . . . Drew had said he’d already called Henry, my brother, so I knew I had to call Suzy, my sister . . . I called my nephew first, Michael, her son; I wanted someone there with her, and said, ‘Please go there.’ And then I called her, and told her what happened.”
