MT. VERNON – A 26-year-old Mt. Vernon woman is scheduled to be retried next week in a case charging her with the brutal 2017 beating of her infant son.

Abagail Adkins was convicted in 2018 of the Class X felony charge of Aggravated Child Abuse resulting in permanent disability and was later sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, as was the baby’s father, Tyrone Steele.

However, Adkins appealed her conviction. The Fifth Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon vacated her conviction after ruling she received ineffective counsel and remanded the case back to Jefferson County for a new trial.

Adkins was returned to the Jefferson County Jail from the Illinois Department of Corrections and her bond status was reinstated at $250,000 – the amount set following her initial arrest.

Adkins and Steele were both arrested and charged in connection with the baby’s beating. According to court documents, the neonatologist at Cardinal Glennon became concerned because the child had an enlarged head.

An ultrasound and CT scan ultimately revealed the baby had bleeding between his skull and brain. Other tests revealed the infant also had 14 rib fractures and a skull fracture with brain tissue injury.

Court records show that while Steele was the one who assaulted the child, Adkins was also charged because she was aware of the abuse but did not stop it or report it.

During a Tuesday court hearing, attorneys agreed to hold a final pretrial hearing Thursday and to start the retrial of the case on April 11.