Drug-Induced Homicide Case To Be Heard By Supreme Court

WHEATON, IL — The Illinois Supreme Court will hear an appeal for a woman's homicide conviction in the death of Augustina Taylor, who died of a drug overdose in 2012. Jennifer Nere, 37, of Summit, was convicted of drug-induced homicide in 2014 after Taylor was found dead on a bathroom floor from a shot of heroin Nere allegedly supplied to her.

The DuPage County coroner's office determined that Taylor's overdose death was caused by both heroin and cocaine. Defense attorneys have asserted that Nere was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and that the jury had not been given proper instructions.

The Second District Appellate Court ruled in July that Nere's conviction would stand, stating that the defense's argument for the appeal lacked "any legal basis." After that ruling, the court also stated that "Taylor's request for heroin on the day of her death meant that she was out of heroin at the time," adding that "the jury's verdict was supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

No date has been set yet for Nere's Supreme Court hearing, in which she is seeking for her conviction to be overturned in order for her to have a new trial, according to Daily Herald.

>>Image via DuPage County State's Attorney's Office