A man has been charged with attempted murder and arson after a domestic disturbance led to a garage fire that left him in critical condition and a woman injured Friday in McHenry.
The McHenry Police Department received a call for a report of a domestic dispute around 5:30 a.m. Friday in the 3800 block of West Main Street in McHenry.
Officers arrived to find a detached garage on the property that was on fire.
The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded to the scene and extinguished the garage fire.
A preliminary investigation was conducted and officers learned two of the property’s residents, a 44-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man, had been involved in a physical altercation, McHenry police said in a statement.
The female suffered a head wound and the man, identified as Michael A. Pica, suffered extensive burns on his body.
Pica and the woman were both transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital.
The woman was later transferred to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with non-life-threatening injuries.
Pica was also transferred to Advocate Condell Medical Center and later to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood with life-threatening injuries, police said.
A review of the incident and evidence was conducted and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office approved multiple charges against Pica.
He was charged with attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery, arson, two counts of aggravated battery and domestic battery.
Court records show Pica was charged in October 2020 with cutting a woman’s neck with a knife in McHenry. It was not clear if the victim in that case was the same as the one in the latest case against Pica.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal is assisting the McHenry Police Department and McHenry Township Fire Protection District in the investigation.
Police said they were not releasing additional information on the case yet due to the active investigation.
Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact the Criminal Investigation Division of the McHenry Police Department at 815-363-2599.
Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the McHenry Police Department tip line at 815-363-2124.