Sarah Safranek: Son’s Death, Premeditation, and 35-Year Sentence

Sarah Safranek is a mother from Oregon, Illinois, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for suffocating her seven-year-old son, Nathaniel Burton, and was sentenced on November 12, 2025 to 35 years in prison, to be served in full, followed by three years of mandatory supervised release.¹ Judge Anthony Peska imposed the sentence in Ogle County after Safranek entered the plea through tears. The case had been pending for more than four years, and it drew wide attention because of what came before the killing: a child who told relatives his mother was trying to smother him, and a state child welfare agency that investigated the home five times without acting.

What Happened to Nathaniel Burton

At about 2:35 a.m. on February 17, 2021, Oregon police responded to a 911 call reporting a child who was not breathing at a home in the 400 block of South 10th Street. Nathaniel, age seven, was taken to KSB Hospital in Dixon and pronounced dead.² Prosecutors said Safranek had suffocated him at the home.

She was arrested roughly two months later, on April 21, 2021, and booked into the Ogle County Jail. The initial charges were three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery to a child, later expanded to five counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. Charging documents described the killing as “brutal and heinous” and committed in a “cold, calculated, and premeditated manner.”³

The Warnings Before the Killing

Nathaniel had been trying to tell adults what was happening to him. He told his paternal grandmother that his mother held pillows over his face and “wouldn’t give up,” and said directly: “I can’t breathe grandma, she won’t let me breathe” and “Mama is going to kill me.”⁴ He also said his mother had tried to drown him in the bathtub. His sister reported watching Safranek choke him and hit him with a belt. Foster parents said the boy once described his mother throwing a couch cushion over him and sitting on it so he could not move.⁵

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigated the household five times between 2018 and 2020. Each case was closed as unfounded.³ The first report, in September 2018, alleged neglect and physical injuries including cuts, bruises, and welts; DCFS closed it that November and referred the family to community services. More reports followed in February 2019, April 2019, and twice in August 2019, alleging physical injuries and inadequate supervision. Investigators reported no visible signs of abuse or neglect and cleared the parent each time. A sixth investigation in August 2020 also produced no findings.⁶

Holly Peifer, director of the Children’s Advocacy Center of DeKalb County, said five reports on a single case is unusual: “It isn’t something that I see very often.”⁷ The paternal grandmother said she contacted DCFS “several times” but never actually spoke to anyone.⁴ After the death, an eleven-year-old sibling told investigators she had seen her mother abuse Nathaniel when they lived together.³

The Evidence of Premeditation

A search of Safranek’s phone recovered Google queries stretching back months before the killing. In August 2020, she searched “I’ve had thoughts about killing my kid” and “Thoughts of killing my children — anyone else have them?” In November 2020, she searched “What is it called when a parent is obsessed with the thought of killing their child?” On the day Nathaniel died, she searched “How long does an investigation take after a child passes away” and “How much does cremation of a child cost?”⁸ Other recovered searches covered deadly poisons, how to kill someone, and the Scott Peterson murder case.⁵

Investigators also found personal journals in which Safranek wrote entries “reflecting that she hurts her kids.”⁵

Why the Case Took More Than Four Years

Safranek was found fit to stand trial in November 2022 after a mental health evaluation.⁹ She then pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder on March 27, 2024, but the trial court granted her motion to withdraw that plea on May 15, 2024.¹⁰

The case then moved into a contested fight over evidence. In June and July 2024, then-Judge John Redington issued a mixed ruling on the internet searches. He allowed four sets: the August 2020 searches about killing one’s child, the November 2020 search about a parent obsessed with killing a child, and the two searches from the day Nathaniel died. He excluded several others the State wanted to use. The defense had argued there was no proof Safranek personally ran the excluded searches because others in the household had access to the phone.⁸

Redington also allowed two witnesses to testify about Nathaniel’s statements describing his mother’s attempts to drown and choke him, over defense objections that the statements were unreliable hearsay that could not be tested through cross-examination. Defense attorney Michael O’Brien told the court, “The witness we are missing is Nathaniel, and that is a due process problem.”⁹ The judge excluded Safranek’s mental health records.⁸

On July 10, 2024, prosecutors filed an interlocutory appeal, arguing the excluded evidence “substantially impaired” their case. The jury trial came off the calendar.¹¹ While the appeal was pending, the defense pushed for pretrial release. Prosecutors responded with jail reports: Safranek had said she planned to stop her psychiatric medication “cold turkey” so she would “be able to cry” when autopsy photos were shown at trial, and had spoken of escaping from the courtroom during a scheduled hearing. Defense counsel called the escape remark a “bad joke” and said the medication comment reflected worry about appearing emotionless. The trial court kept her detained, and on January 24, 2025 the Illinois Appellate Court (Fourth District) affirmed, citing her history of violence against Nathaniel, the incriminating internet searches, her psychiatric history, and her stated intentions.¹⁰

The Guilty Plea and 35-Year Sentence

On November 12, 2025, the case came back before Judge Peska, who had taken over after Redington’s retirement. Ogle County Public Defender Kathleen Isley requested a 402 conference, a closed-door meeting between the judge and attorneys to discuss a resolution, and Safranek consented. After the conference, Safranek pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder, answering “Guilty” through tears when asked how she wished to plead. The remaining murder and battery counts were dismissed.¹¹

Peska sentenced her to 35 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, to be served at 100 percent, with credit for 1,666 days already served, followed by three years of mandatory supervised release. He told her: “I think this is an appropriate sentence. You are very emotional right now. There is no greater gift than having a child and having that taken away is the greatest hurt. Living with this is going to be a very large burden for you to bear.” Defense counsel asked that Safranek receive mental health treatment in prison. Peska said he could not order the Department of Corrections to provide it but indicated he was willing to sign such an order.¹¹

Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock said the agreement was reached “after consultation with the victim’s family and after taking into consideration the prior court’s evidentiary ruling,” adding: “Based on the defendant’s acceptance of responsibility and in consideration of prior court rulings we felt this was the best way.” Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten confirmed that Nathaniel’s father and grandmother had been notified of the plea agreement before the hearing.¹¹

1
WIFR. Oregon Mother Sarah Safranek Sentenced for Killing 7-Year-Old Son
2
MyStateline. Oregon Woman Arrested, Charged With Murder
3
Shaw Local News Network. Oregon Household Investigated 5 Times Before 7-Year-Old’s Death
4
People. Mom Pressed Pillows Over Son, Killed Him, Sentenced to Prison
5
Law & Crime. 7-Year-Old Suffocated by Mother Told His Grandma She Won’t Let Me Breathe
6
MyStateline. Report: DCFS Was Called Multiple Times to Home of Murdered Oregon Boy Nathaniel Burton
7
WIFR. DCFS Drops Timeline in Death of Nathaniel Burton
8
Shaw Local News Network. Oregon Mother Accused of Suffocating Her Son Wants a New Judge to Oversee Murder Case
9
Shaw Local News Network. Judge Rules on Statements in Safranek Case
10
Illinois Appellate Court. People v. Safranek, 2025 IL App (4th) 240969-U
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Shaw Local News Network. Oregon Mom Pleads Guilty to Suffocating 7-Year-Old Son in 2021