People v. Blommaert

Debbie Blommaert was convicted of murdering her 10-month-old adopted infant. This court affirmed on direct appeal. (People v. Blommaert (1989), 184 Ill. App. 3d 1065, 541 N.E.2d 144.) She now appeals from the denial of her petition for post-conviction relief, which alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. We find that defendant was denied her constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, we reverse her conviction and remand for a new trial.

The facts adduced at trial are fully laid out in this court’s prior opinion. In a nutshell, the evidence showed that the infant…