Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announces wilk convicted in death of three-year-old in her care

MADISON Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that a Baraboo woman has been convicted of reckless homicide in the death of a three-year-old girl who was in her care.

Susan R. Wilk, 30, was convicted last night by a jury of one felony count of first-degree reckless homicide. Sauk County Judge James Evenson presided over the trial.

The charge stems from the death of Mercedes Caflisch, a three-year-old girl who died on November 20, 1999, after spending the previous day at Wilk's residence. Wilk faces a maximum prison term of 40 years at sentencing.

Witnesses testified that after being in Susan Wilk's care, Mercedes Caflisch had over 40 bruises and abrasions to her body and had suffered a blunt force trauma to her abdomen, which completely severed her small intestine. She was dead within approximately fifteen minutes of leaving Wilk's home.

Judge Evenson revoked Wilk's bail pending sentencing. The court has scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 25, 2007. The Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation was conducted in coordination with the Sauk County Sheriff's Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Eric Wilson and Barbara Oswald.