LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Publisher’s note: This is an evolving story. The Prairie Press will provide additional updates as they become available. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Names of minors involved with the case have been omitted.
PARIS – An Edgar County woman is in custody after allegedly attempting to poison and kill her husband and two-year-old son. Karlla Marie Tresner, 36, is facing two charges: attempted first-degree murder/intent to kill or injure (a Class X Felony) and aggravated battery/ingestion of a toxic substance (a Class 3 Felony). She appeared before Judge David Lewis on Monday, Nov. 18, for a preliminary hearing.
During the hearing, Edgar County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Bennett testified Tresner was arrested Friday, Nov. 1, around 1 p.m. after dispatchers received reports of a domestic dispute at an address on N. 1875th Street near Paris. Bennett responded to the scene that day and spoke with Richard Brandon Tresner, Karlla’s husband.
“He was walking down the road carrying a small child saying that his wife was trying to kill him,” Bennett recalled.
Bennett stated shortly after meeting Brandon Tresner, Karlla Tresner approached and started following her husband, sucking on her fingers and “acting like I wasn’t there.”
The deputy identified Karlla Tresner in the courtroom and explained he had to restrain her and place her in handcuffs because she “wouldn’t stop following Brandon.”
Brandon Tresner told Bennett his wife had locked him and his child in the bathroom for roughly eight hours, depriving them both of food and water. Upon investigating the residence, Bennett found the bathroom and testified the door “had been essentially forced open.”
The door was cracked and fragments of the door jam were found on the floor – evidence Bennett believed was consistent with Brandon Tresner’s story.
Karlla and Brandon Tresner were subsequently transported to the emergency room along with their son. While at the hospital, Bennett spoke with Karlla Tresner, who made two startling admissions.
“She had given (her son) methamphetamine on a powdered donut and some purple pills that we were unable to identify,” Bennett said. “(And) she had given Brandon some type of a syringe injection in the back of his neck with unknown substances.”
When Bennett asked Tresner her reasoning behind her actions, she explained she resented Brandon Tresner for not assisting her in killing herself and she was “essentially jealous” of her son. Bennett said she also cited several of her son’s medical conditions, claiming she “was not able to handle” them.
Karlla Tresner explained to medical staff and DCFS personnel that she intended to kill her son, according to Bennett. Results from lab testing confirmed that methamphetamine and “some other kind of stimulant” were present in the child’s system.
Court records indicate Karlla Tresner filed for a dissolution of her marriage on Oct. 4.
Following Bennett’s testimony, public defender Nathanael Harsy, representing Tresner, took time to cross-examine the deputy. During questioning, Harsy asked if the meth-laced donuts were ever collected by law enforcement and if a site wound was documented on Brandon Tresner’s neck.
The donuts were not obtained as evidence, and Bennett could not confirm the presence of a wound on Tresner’s neck, nor could he confirm if medical personnel saw a wound.
Harsy argued the lack of physical evidence left the prosecution’s arguments well short of their burden of proof. He also claimed the defendant had since recanted the statements she made to law enforcement that day.
“The state does not have tangible evidence,” Harsy said. “And, understanding that one of the juveniles did test positive, there is a variety of possibilities when Ms. Tresner, as well as Richard (Brandon) Tresner, have acknowledged methamphetamine use in their home.”
Assistant state’s attorney Lauren McQueen contested Harsy’s claim.
“The state has shown … whether she recanted or not at a prior hearing … lab results that do show that methamphetamine was in the child’s system, directly relating to the statements that she made to law enforcement and medical personnel,” McQueen argued. “There is plenty to show probable cause and for the state to have met its burden.”
Harsy requested Tresner be released subject to electronic monitoring, claiming Karlla Tresner’s threatening statements and behavior, what he called an “isolated incident,” were made when she was “not mentally well.” Tresner would be sent into a rehabilitation program after her release, per Harsy.
McQueen again combatted Harsy’s request, noting Tresner could be transferred to a residential treatment center while in custody once a spot opens up. No new evidence was presented that deemed Tresner a non-threat to herself or her family, McQueen concluded.
“I believe that her continued detention is appropriate,” she said.
Probable cause for a crime was found, and Judge Lewis denied the defense’s request for pre-trial release. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the Edgar County Sheriff’s Department.
Tresner is set to appear for a jury pre-trial at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 13 and a jury trial at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. Both trials will occur in courtroom one, located in the courthouse’s second story.