Naperville Mom Accused Of Stabbing Children To Death To Launch Insanity Defense

NAPERVILLE, IL — Attorneys for a woman accused in the brutal stabbing deaths of her 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old girl she was babysitting are expected to present an insanity defense as the trial gets underway on Tuesday. Elzbieta Plackowska, 45, reportedly told her son, Justin, and babysitting charge Olivia Dworakowski to get on their knees and pray before stabbing both children dozens of times. Police found the children's bodies in the Dworakowski family's townhome on Oct. 30, 2012. Two dogs were also found stabbed to death inside the home.

Plackowska, a native of Poland, has been held without bond since Oct. 31, 2012. She was babysitting 5-year-old Olivia while the girl's mother, a nurse, worked a night shift. Dworakowski's mother reportedly called police after she arrived home and was unable to get inside. At a press conference in the days after the children's murders, Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said the scene inside the Quin Court townhome was the most gruesome he'd witnessed in his career.

Both children's throats had been slashed, and they'd been stabbed dozens of times in what DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin in 2012 called "a scene of unimaginable horror." Authorities said Plackowska stabbed her son, Justin, about 100 times in the face, chest, arms, legs and back, before stabbing Olivia around 50 times. Both children pleaded for their lives, Berlin said.

Plackowska was arrested after going to another Naperville home where her adult son was staying. Berlin said she also called her church and left a message saying she had "done something bad" and needed help. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Police said Plackowska told them the children had evil inside of them and she was trying to get the evil and devil out of them. She also claimed she was angry with her husband because he was gone most days working as a truck driver and did not appreciate her, according to police.

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Plackowska's attorneys, Assistant Public Defenders Kristen Nevdal and George Ford, declined to comment on the case last week, according to the Chicago Tribune, but plan to present an insanity defense. Dr. Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist who has been involved in high-profile cases including serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, will serve as an expert for the defense, the Tribune reported.

In anticipation of a possible insanity defense, prosecutors in 2012 requested that Plackowska undergo a psychological evaluation.

Plackowska is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said she came to the U.S. on a vacation visa about 12 years before the murders and remained here, but did not become a citizen.

Photos: The scene outside the Quin Court townhome where Olivia Dworakowski and Justin Plackowska were found murdered on Oct. 31, 2012./Patch file photos