The North Chicago woman accused of forcing her young son to stay in a cold shower until he became so ill that he died has pleaded guilty in Lake County to first-degree murder.

Jannie Perry, 42, agreed to a partially negotiated plea in the death of her son, Damari, who died on or about the eve of his sixth birthday on Dec. 29, 2021. After his death, his brother dumped the child’s body in a Gary, Indiana, neighborhood, according to police.

Perry will be sentenced in late January.

In return for her pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed to drop some of the counts she faced, and they agreed to cap their sentencing recommendation at 45 years, a spokesperson for Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Friday.

The usual range for first-degree murder is 20 to 60 years, with life in prison possible under certain circumstances.

Two of Perry’s children were also charged in connection with Damari’s death. Jeremiah Perry, 24, is awaiting trial; another was charged as a juvenile.

Authorities said Damari Perry was forced to remain in a cold shower as a punishment for misbehavior until he vomited and became unresponsive. He died later that night at the family home in the 1700 block of North Sheridan Road.

Police said the family did not seek medical attention for the boy. An autopsy determined that he died from hypothermia.

After the boy’s death, his brother drove Damari’s body to a neighborhood in Gary, where he tried to burn the corpse, police said.

In the days after Damari died, his family reported him missing and told police that he might be in Skokie, but investigating officers determined that the family’s story was false. Jannie Perry and two of her children were taken into custody two days later, in early January of 2022.

Damari Perry was literally born into the state’s foster system, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said in 2022. Jannie Perry, who had seven children, lost custody in 2014, and still had not regained it at the time of Damari’s birth in late 2015.

She regained custody in 2017, DCFS said.

Perry has been held in lieu of bond since her arrest. The nearly four years in custody will be credited toward whatever prison sentence she receives.

Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30. Jeremiah Perry is scheduled to go on trial in Lake County on Feb. 9.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/05/jannie-perry-murder-plea/