JOLIET, IL — The Will County jury deciding Sean Woulfe’s fate on 16 counts of reckless homicide in the Beecher tragedy that killed a pregnant mother and her three young boys was sent home Monday night after deliberating for seven hours without reaching a unanimous verdict.
Shortly after 7 p.m. Monday, Judge Daniel Rippy called the jurors back into his courtroom. The judge asked the foreman, without divulging vote totals, whether the jury has reached a unanimous decision.
“We have not,” the foreman declared.
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Rippy told the nine women and three men they were being sent home for the evening, and they should be back at the Will County Courthouse at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to resume deliberations.
Last week, Will County Sheriff’s Patrol Sgt. Steve Mathis told jurors that Woulfe’s Chevy S-10 pickup truck was traveling nearly 85 mph when Woulfe crashed into the van of Lindsey Schmidt, killing her, her unborn child, and her three young sons, Owen, Weston and Kaleb.
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On Friday, Woulfe informed the judge that he has decided not to take the witness stand to testify in his own defense. Woulfe’s criminal defense lawyer for the past five years, George Lenard of Joliet, chose not to call any witnesses on behalf of his client.
Around 8:35 a.m. on a sunny day with clear blue skies, Woulfe drove through the stop sign in rural Beecher along Corning Road on July 24, 2017. He crashed into Schmidt’s van as she traveled along Yates Avenue.
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