Thirteen years after she was imprisoned for the murder of a 2-year-old Bartlett boy, Pamela Jacobazzi is still quick to declare she’s innocent.
Jacobazzi, 57, is eligible for parole in just three years — but she hopes to clear her name before then.
That’s because the former Bartlett day care provider convicted of fatally shaking Matthew Czapski is getting a new evidentiary hearing, which could result in a new trial.
She also has picked up backing from the Illinois Innocence Project, which is calling on Gov. Pat Quinn to grant her clemency.
Medical witnesses for the prosecution contended at trial that Matthew’s injuries were so severe his symptoms would have shown almost immediately if that had been the case.
“There was testimony that the only other thing that could have caused this was an automobile wreck or a fall from several stories,” said investigator Bill Clutter, of the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield.
The case was featured in a July 9, 2012, article in the Chicago Daily Herald.
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