From the State’s Attorney:
CARA ULLRICH SENTENCED TO THE MAXIUMUM TERM – FOURTEEN YEARS IN IDOC – FOR INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER FOR THE DEATH OF HER SON
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office announces that on June 13, 2025, Cara Ullrich, 46, of Richmond, Illinois was sentenced to fourteen years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the offense of Involuntary Manslaughter. Ullrich was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Tiffany Davis.
At the sentencing hearing, the State’s Attorney’s Office presented evidence from multiple witnesses that on January 3, 2024, the Richmond Fire Department responded to a call for an unresponsive minor.
Although responding emergency personnel attempted lifesaving medical treatment, the minor was later pronounced dead at Northwestern Hospital McHenry.
A toxicology test performed on the blood of the minor revealed that his cause of death was the adverse effects of fentanyl and xylazine.
Several members from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office testified at the hearing regarding their investigation into the minor’s death.
Photographs and footage from responding officers’ body worn cameras documented several full and used bags of narcotics containing
- heroin,
- fentanyl, and
- cocaine,
along with assorted narcotics paraphernalia strewn throughout the residence.
Evidence was also presented that Ullrich, who was the minor’s mother, was present in the home and was aware of her son’s overdose event.
Ullrich consciously chose not to provide medical treatment for her child during the overdose event and did not call 911.
During the investigation, Ullrich also consistently provided false information to officers regarding the circumstances of her son’s death.
Honorable Judge Davis also heard evidence from the Coroner’s Investigator and an Emergency Room Physician about the minor’s medical treatment and prognosis if treated promptly for the overdose event. Cook County Emergency Physician and Medical Toxicologist Steven Aks reported that the minor would have been easily treatable and would have survived if he had received medical attention during the overdose event.
Parents have a legal duty, not just a moral one, to protect and care for their children.
This senseless and tragic death of a fourteen-year-old was entirely preventable had medical treatment been sought for this child.
Fentanyl continues to be a leading cause of death among young adults across the United States.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office continues to remain committed to the prosecution of all those involved in drug-related deaths that occur in our communities, especially those involving the most vulnerable – our children.
“The death of a child is tragic for not just the family, but our whole community.
“My office will continue to work tirelessly to combat drug sales, use, and distribution in our county so that we don’t have to lose anyone, especially our children, to such an awful outcome,” Freese said.
Freese also commends the members of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office for their diligent efforts and thorough investigation into this minor’s death.
This case was successfully prosecuted by McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese accompanied by Chief of Staff Ashley Romito and Special Prosecutor William Bruce.
