A father being held in jail for the first-degree murder of his 14-year-old son in Richmond is facing new charges for allegedly communicating with a witness in the case.
Eric Ullrich, 52, of Richmond, was charged on Monday with one count of communicating or detaining a witness, a Class 3 felony.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Ullrich communicated false information directly to a witness around 8:20 p.m. on November 24.
The complaint said Ullrich intended to deter the witness from testifying “freely, fully and truthfully” in a pending court matter.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office investigated the incident. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said the agency was not releasing further details.
At the time of the offense, Ullrich was being held in the McHenry County Jail after being charged in February with first-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, possession of a controlled substance and obstructing justice.
A second suspect, Cara Ullrich, 46, Round Lake Beach, was also charged with first-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.
The charges against the two stem from an incident that the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Richmond Township Fire Protection District and Mercyhealth MD-1 responded to around 10:50 a.m. on January 3 in the 9600 block of Hillandale Road in unincorporated Richmond.
Sheriff’s officials said a call was received for a medical emergency involving an unresponsive juvenile male.
911 dispatchers indicated over the radio that someone was performing CPR on the juvenile, a 14-year-old.
Fire officials said paramedics initiated lifesaving treatment and were assisted by Mercyhealth MD-1.
Paramedics rushed the juvenile to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry where he was pronounced dead.
McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein identified the child as Trent Ullrich, 14, of Richmond.
An autopsy was performed on Ullrich on January 4. Toxicology and tissue samples were collected and sent for testing.
Rein said that the cause of the boy’s death was determined to be from the adverse effects of fentanyl and xylazine. The manner of death was deemed to be an accident, Rein added.
Following the child’s death in January, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office arrested the boy’s parents, Cara Ullrich and Eric Ullrich.
A grand jury indictment said Cara Ullrich and Eric Ullrich refused to seek medical care for Trent Ullrich, knowing that he was under the influence of a narcotic and experiencing an overdose.
The two knew such an act “created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to” the boy, the indictment said.
The indictment said Cara Ullrich brought a substance containing fentanyl into the residence, which was occupied by two children, in the 9600 block of Hillandale Road in unincorporated Richmond.
The drugs were accessible and led to the 14-year-old boy overdosing, the indictment and a criminal complaint said.
Eric Ullrich allowed the drugs to be brought into the home and he also possessed a substance containing cocaine, the indictment said.
The indictment said Eric Ullrich was charged with obstructing justice because he concealed physical evidence and provided false information that impeded the death investigation.
A criminal complaint at the time of Eric Ullrich’s arrest said he suspected the boy to be under the influence of heroin and fentanyl at the family’s residence and did not promptly seek medical care for the boy.
Prosecutors in January said that when paramedics arrived, Cara Ullrich hid in a bathtub because she knew she had warrants, the Northwest Herald reported.
Cara Ullrich was wanted on failure to appear warrants for 2020 charges of domestic battery and violation of an order of protection and a 2021 charge for aggravated battery, court records showed.
Prosecutors said the boy told his father, who he resides with at the residence, that he did not feel good and laid on the couch before falling asleep, the Herald reported. His father later found he was not breathing.
Deputies had to tackle Cara Ullrich after she tried running from them at the scene, prosecutors said.
Cara Ullrich and Eric Ullrich both remain held in the McHenry County Jail pending trial.
During a court hearing for the new charges against Eric Ullrich, a judge ordered him to have no contact with Cara Ullrich, one of his children and two other people, as well as any other witness in the case.
Cara Ullrich is set to appear in court again on January 15 for a status hearing and Eric Ullrich is set to appear in court again on December 5 for a trial conference.