UNION COUNTY, Ill. - A son dead, his mother facing charges, and a family caught in the middle. Tuesday morning that mother Sandra Smith and another woman, Angie Liljegren, faced a judge for the first time on drug-induced homicide charges.

A grand jury recently indicted Angie Liljegren and Sandra Smith of Dongola, Illinois.

Prosecutors believe the two gave 26-year-old Zane Smith a number of controlled substances that eventually killed him.

Investigators found Zane Smith's body inside Angie Liljegren's home on the morning of September 16th last year.

Union County State's Attorney Tyler Edmonds said a year-long investigation led to the arrests.

Sandra Smith maintains her innocence.

"I did not kill my son," she said outside the courtroom.

And her son Langley said his mother is the victim, taken advantage of by his brother, Zane.

"She doesn't give drugs to her children," he said, "Before my brother passed, he stole."

But prosecutors believe Smith gave her son a Fentanyl pain patch, then lied about it to detectives. Investigators claim in court documents that Angie Liljegren provided Zane with prescription pills.

Authorities found Zane Smith's body inside Liljegren's home last September. Prosecutors allege that she tried to hide the death from deputies by moving the body, then holding them up at the door.

"I love Zane to death, but it was beyond a problem. And it's even more a problem," said Langley Smith.

Langley Smith said his brother's drug abuse still rips this family apart, and healing is not easy.

"We love through thick and thin," he said.

His brother's gone forever. And right now in the eyes of the law part of the responsibility for that death lies with his mother.

"I can't even wrap my head around it," he said.

A relative of Angie Liljegren's was in court Tuesday, but he refused to comment. The judge appointed her an attorney.

Sandra Smith said she planned to hire an attorney. She'll be back in court with that lawyer on August 28th.