Trial reset for Munster woman

Author: Post-Tribune staff report

A former Lowell area woman accused of killing her adopted infant son has a new trial date.

Natalie Fabian Evans, 35, of the 9200 block of Hawthorne Drive in Munster is scheduled to stand trial on murder, battery and neglect of a dependent charges on Oct. 3. Her trial previously had been set for May 9, but Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. granted a defense request to delay the trial until fall.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for May 13. Fabian Evans faces a maximum 65-year sentence if convicted.

Police were called to the family home in the 17000 block of Roosevelt Place on Nov. 29, 2001, to assist medics with 16-month-old Luke Evans. Fabian Evans told authorities she was unable to wake him and may have bumped his head while attempting to lay him in the bathtub to stimulate him.

The child was taken to St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point and transferred to University of Chicago Hospitals, where he was found to be critically ill. The baby died on Nov. 30, 2001.

An autopsy by the Cook County, Ill., medical examiner's office determined Luke Evans died as a result of shaken baby syndrome. The child also had poor nutrition, hydration and weight gain, authorities allege.