## Facts

- Donna Kolzow’s three-month-old son, Jeffrey, died of heat stroke after being left unattended in a parked car for several hours on an August morning.
- After being out overnight driving, Kolzow returned home around 4:30–5:00 a.m. and stayed in her car reading until about 6:30 a.m.
- Around 6:30 a.m., she parked in front of the house, turned off the engine, closed the front windows (leaving rear windows open several inches), locked the car, and went inside, leaving the infant in the back seat.
- She went to the bathroom, set an alarm for 9:30 a.m., and lay down on a couch; she later stated she “forgot” the child was in the car and did not awaken to the alarm.
- She awoke around 10:30 a.m., remembered the child, and found him unresponsive with discoloration; the child was pronounced dead.
- At a bench trial, the State presented expert testimony and experimental evidence showing that temperatures inside a car can rise rapidly to dangerous levels under similar weather conditions.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Kolzow acted “recklessly,” supporting involuntary manslaughter based on leaving an infant in a car for hours in summer conditions.
2. Whether the trial court properly admitted experimental evidence about temperature increases inside a vehicle under substantially similar conditions.
3. Whether the trial judge relied on matters outside the record in finding guilt.
4. Whether the sentence was based on matters outside the record or was excessive.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the conviction for involuntary manslaughter and the sentence of three years’ probation with counseling and six months in county custody.
- The evidence was sufficient for the trier of fact to find recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the State’s vehicle-temperature experiment.
- The record did not show improper reliance on extra-record facts in the finding of guilt or sentencing.
- The sentence was within statutory limits and not an abuse of discretion.

## Legal Principles

- Illinois involuntary manslaughter requires proof that, without lawful justification, the defendant unintentionally caused death through reckless acts likely to cause death or great bodily harm.
- Recklessness entails a conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk and a gross deviation from reasonable care; the State need not prove the defendant foresaw the precise mechanism of death if serious harm was an apparent risk.
- Experimental evidence is admissible when conditions are substantially similar to the event and the evidence assists the fact-finder; differences typically affect weight rather than admissibility.
- A trial judge may draw reasonable inferences from admitted evidence and general life experience; reversal requires a showing that the decision rested on information not in the record.
- Sentencing decisions are reviewed for abuse of discretion; a sentence within statutory bounds will be upheld absent a clear abuse.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Kolzow’s involuntary manslaughter conviction, holding that leaving a three-month-old child unattended in a mostly closed car for hours on a summer morning supported a finding of recklessness, and it approved admission of substantially similar experimental evidence demonstrating rapid heat buildup in vehicles.


People v. Kolzow, 301 Ill. App. 3d 1, 703 N.E.2d 424 (Ill. App. Ct. 1998)