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Mother indicted for child neglect after two sons die in trunk

Updated: Sat 2:43 AM, May 05, 2012

Jacqueline Wilk, 23, turned herself in to police Friday after a grand jury indicted her for neglect. Wilk's two sons died after getting stuck inside the trunk of her parked car last June.

Police said on June 17, 2011, Wilk was at a home owned by her step-father and mother in the 300-block of East Ada Street with her two boys, Isaac Dunner, 2, and Dominick Wilk, 4. Around 3:00 p.m. she found them inside the trunk of her 2000 Chevrolet Malibu. The boys were rushed to Memorial Hospital where Isaac was pronounced dead. Dominick died the following morning.

The coroner determined the cause of death as hyperthermia, which was brought on by the excessive heat. The high temperature the day they died was 85 degrees. Experts have said it can be up to 40 degrees warmer inside a vehicle's trunk. The coroner said the heat caused their organs to shut down, which lead to their deaths.

This week, Prosecutor Michael Dvorak requested a grand jury review the evidence against Wilk to confirm there was enough to charge her with two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in a death of a person younger than 14, a Class A felony , for each of the children who died. The charging documents allege Wilk knowingly placed her children in a dangerous situation by leaving them unattended near a pool, hot tub, roadway and the unlocked vehicle. If convicted of both charges, state law mandates she serve between 20 and 50 years for each count.

On Thursday the grand jury issued the indictment. Wilk turned herself in Friday at the St. Joe County Jail and posted a $10,000 bond shortly after.

Wilk’s stepfather declined an on camera interview Friday, but told NewsCenter 16 he questioned why it took so long for Wilk to be charged.


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