Prosecutors say a man stabbed a woman with an ice pick and strangled her by the throat during an attack where he also threatened to kill her at a hotel in Grayslake.
Gregory K. Richardson, 31, of Chicago, was charged with three counts of domestic battery with a prior conviction, a Class 4 felony.
The Grayslake Police Department responded on March 7, 2024, to Comfort Suites, 1775 East Belvidere Road in Grayslake, to a 911 call from an employee of the hotel for a domestic incident.
Officers spoke with the victim who reported she and Richardson got into an argument about her texting other people. The two are in a dating relationship.
Prosecutors said Richardson grabbed her phone and threw it, pushed the woman onto the bed, stabbed her arm, grabbed her by the throat and strangled her.
Prosecutors said Richardson used an instrument believed to be an ice pick to stab the woman and that he kept saying, “I’m going to kill you.”
The victim told Richardson she was going to call the police, at which time he grabbed her phone and car keys and fled the scene with them, prosecutors said.
Officers observed a slash wound on the victim’s left forearm that was bleeding and the bed sheets had blood on them.
Paramedics responded to the scene to treat her for the injury.
The woman told officers Richardson has been violent with her before and she previously obtained an order of protection against him for a similar incident. The order of protection was expired at the time of the attack.
An arrest warrant was issued for Richardson the same month of the incident and he was arrested earlier this month during a traffic stop.
Prosecutors said Richardson has a significant history of domestic violence in several states and argued for him to be held pending trial, saying that his history shows he cannot control himself.
A public defender for Richardson said his client lives by himself in Chicago while the victim lives in Indiana. Richardson owns his own business and is attending school studying biochemistry.
The public defender noted that the incident occurred over a year ago and the two remain in contact and are friends.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim denied a petition filed by the state’s attorney’s office after finding there were pre-trial conditions that could be imposed to mitigate the threat to the victim.
Richardson is scheduled to appear in court again on April 23 for a status of preliminary hearing.