Mom Who Fed Disabled Daughter Lethal Pills Sentenced to 4 Years in Jail

A Schaumburg mother who admitted to giving her disabled daughter a deadly dose of pills through her feeding tube was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Last week, prosecutors recommended that Bonnie Liltz, 56, be given four years probation after she accepted a deal to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter for overdosing her 28-year-old daughter who suffered from cerebral palsy. Originally, Liltz had pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the 2015 case.

RELATED: Is Probation Enough for Mother Who Fed Disabled Daughter Lethal Pills?

Instead, Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt sentenced Liltz to jail time, condemning her actions as criminal and not merciful, the Tribune reports:

"The choice you made that morning was not an act of love. It was a crime. Life is precious … even a life that is profoundly disabled. Your daughter, Courtney, was innocent, vulnerable and fragile."

Although Liltz received prison time, her four-year sentence is less than the maximum of 14 years she could have been given. Liltz's bond was revoked Wednesday, and she was taken into custody, the report stated.

In May 2015, Liltz fed the contents of drug capsules into her daughter Courtney's feeding tube before taking the same pills herself and washing them down with a glass of wine as part of a suicide attempt. Both women were rushed to the hospital, but doctors only were able to revive Liltz.

Liltz's sentencing was scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, but the judge delayed his decision a week.

Last week, supporters of Liltz—a two-time cancer survivor who suffered from bowel issues stemming from ovarian cancer she was diagnosed with when she was 19—described her as a loving mother simply overwhelmed by the 24-hour care her daughter required.

Advocates for individuals with disabilities, however, argued no circumstances—no matter how difficult—ever make it acceptable to take a life, especially in the case of Courtney, a woman who literally could not speak for herself.

YOUR TURN: Is Bonnie Liltz's four-year prison sentence too harsh? Should she have received probation? Or should the judge have given her the maximum sentence of 14 years?

More via the Chicago Tribune

PHOTO: Bonnie (right) and Courtney Liltz (Bonnie Liltz | Facebook)

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