A Highland woman will be sentenced Oct. 13 after a judge on Thursday rejected her attempt to pull out of her plea deal for running over her boyfriend, sources said.
Raquel McCormick, now 51, signed a plea in July 2022 for voluntary manslaughter. Since then, she and her lawyers launched a failed effort to have her declared incompetent for trial.
Her lawyer Paul Stracci declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing.
She allegedly hit Thomas Brankin, 53, with an SUV on Aug. 11, 2020 after an argument in a parking lot behind Wine House, her business in downtown Highland, according to an affidavit. Brankin was Valparaiso University’s assistant golf coach and a Schererville accountant.
Pleas, once signed, can only be scuttled for strict legal reasons.
Co-counsel J. Michael Woods previously argued to Judge Samuel Cappas that McCormick was hospitalized and dealing with physical and mental health struggles when she signed the document.
Deputy Prosecutor Infinity Westberg previously countered that jailhouse calls showed McCormick was a full participant with her lawyers and had a sharp understanding of her case and plea.
mcolias@post-trib.com
