The Second Appellate District reversed a trial court order. The court held that the transcript of a telephone conversation in which the defendant in a wrongful death action failed to deny the plaintiff’s accusations of misconduct should have been admitted into evidence under the adoptive admission exception to the hearsay rule.
In September 2005, 25-year old Shannon Siebert accused her stepfather, Jeffrey Kincaid, of having tortured and sexually abused her when she was a child and teenager. A police investigation yielded insufficient evidence to prosecute Jeffrey. In February 2008, Shannon committed suicide. Shannon’s mother, Deborah Kincaid, sued Jeffrey for wrongful death and other causes of action.
