Court Upholds Drug Homicide Conviction In Naperville Man's Death

NAPERVILLE, IL — An appellate court has upheld the conviction for a man found guilty of drug-induced homicide in the 2015 death of a 26-year-old Naperville man. Kevin Liszka, 36, formerly of Melrose Park, was first found guilty in 2018 of supplying a fatal dose of heroin to the man, who subsequently died of a drug overdose.

According to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, Liszka gave the heroin to Skyler Sabala, who then gave it to a man who ingested it and later died. Liszka pleaded guilty in 2016 to one count of manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

In 2018, a jury found Liszka guilty of drug-induced homicide, and he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. That conviction was affirmed by an appellate court Monday.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement, "I would like to thank the Appellate Court for their thorough examination of both the record and the Appellate Defender’s memorandum of law and for their conclusion that 'the appeal presents no issue of arguable merit.' Their ruling not only preserves Mr. Liszka’s well-deserved sentence, it also sends the message that drug dealers in DuPage County will be held accountable if it has been determined that they were the source of a fatal overdose."