Body-cam video of responders trying to save Richmond teen shown at dad’s sentencing for manslaughter

At the start of a Richmond dad’s sentencing Thursday in connection with his son’s fatal overdose, prosecutors played body camera footage from detectives who responded to his home when his son was found unresponsive.

A hum and compression noises are heard coming from an automated chest compression machine that paramedics used as they tried to save 14-year-old Trent Ullrich.

Trent was pronounced dead in the emergency room later that day, Jan. 3, 2024. He died from a mix of fentanyl and xylazine, the McHenry County Coroner’s Office determined. Trent’s mother, Cara Ullrich, 46, who like her ex-husband eventually pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in her son’s death, was accused of bringing the drugs into the home, prosecutors and court records say. Both parents had been charged with murder in the case.

In the video taken the day Trent died, Eric Ullrich is seen and heard repeating to paramedics and police the chain of events that occurred that morning. Ullrich, 52, who pleaded guilty in January in connection with Trent’s death, said he did not know his son to do drugs.

Ullrich said Trent had told him he didn’t feel good. About 1 a.m., Ullrich told Trent to take a shower, which he did. Trent then came down to the living room in a towel and laid on the couch and fell asleep.

Ullrich said he took Trent’s blood pressure, which was normal. He last saw Trent awake about 2 a.m. Ullrich also said he slept on a chair near Trent, and that he woke up about 11 a.m. to find Trent unresponsive and called 911. To one detective, Ullrich added that Trent was drooling and his lips were blue.

Anthony DiCianni, a doctor and EMT at Mercyhealth, testified Thursday that when Trent was taken to the hospital, there were signs of rigor mortis in his arm, indicating that he had been in cardiac arrest for three to four hours.

Detectives later told Ullrich that they found a baggie filled with grayish powder in Trent’s room. Police found heroin, fentanyl and cocaine throughout the house, according to authorities and court documents.

The body-cam videos show a detective’s surprise when she finds Cara Ullrich hiding in an upstairs bathroom located off a bedroom where the door was locked. In the video, Eric is heard acting surprised that his ex-wife was in the house, asking how she got in and why she didn’t tell anyone.

It was later learned that the couple was home all night and knew that Trent had ingested some of Cara’s drugs, and rather than call 911, they scrambled to revive him, prosecutors have said.

More videos were shown in court Friday, these taken during sheriff’s detective interviews with Eric after his son had died. Over the course of hours of questioning, he denied knowing his ex-wife was in the house and said she often breaks in because she has nowhere to live.

He eventually said Cara was there and had drugs in the house. He questioned how she got in the house because he had told her in the past that she was not welcome.

Eric noted Cara had said some of her drugs were missing. Still, Eric said he thought Trent was OK. He said had he thought “his life was in danger,” he would have taken Trent to the hospital “immediately.”

Both parents initially were charged with first-degree murder, but each has since pleaded guilty to lesser charges. On Jan 3, exactly one year after Trent died, Eric entered into a blind plea of guilty to involuntary manslaughter of a family member, a Class 2 felony. He faces up to 14 years in prison. He could face up to an additional five years in prison for communication with witnesses, a Class 3 felony, according to court documents.

In February, Cara also entered into a blind plea of guilty to involuntary manslaughter of a family member. Eric’s sentencing hearing continues March 28. Cara is set for a three-day sentencing hearing beginning April 30. Both have been in custody at the McHenry County jail since their arrests.

An Antioch man also is charged in connection with Trent’s death. Jose Limas, 69, is accused of selling the fatal doses of fentanyl and xylazine to Cara, court records show. He is charged with drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony. If convicted, he could spend up to 30 years in prison.

Limas has been in custody at the jail since his arrest in July. He is due in court for a status hearing Monday.