A jury convicted a man of attempted murder after prosecutors said he attacked a woman with a hatchet and a hammer, leaving her seriously injured in a “horrific” attack, in Crystal Lake.
Mark Alex, 60, of Crystal Lake, was found guilty on two counts of attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony, and two counts of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony.
A jury returned the verdict in just 53 minutes after deliberations began on Monday at the conclusion of a week-long trial held in front of McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt.
The charges stem from a stabbing that occurred around 3:30 p.m. on March 5, 2022, in the 1300 block of Skyridge Drive in Crystal Lake.
The Crystal Lake Police Department received a 911 call for a person who reported by stabbed by her estranged husband.
Officers found the woman with multiple injuries to her head.
Officers performed medical treatment until the Crystal Lake Fire and Rescue Department arrived.
Paramedics rushed the woman to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in Huntley for further treatment.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Richard Neumann said at the time that the victim suffered significant injuries to her head, which were caused by a hatchet and hammer.
Prosecutors said Alex purchased a demolition hammer and a hatchet at Home Depot before arriving at the woman’s apartment.
The two were supposed to be meeting for a child custody exchange.
Prosecutors said Alex removed the packaging from both the hammer and the hatchet before entering the apartment.
Prosecutors said Alex attacked the woman less than 45 minutes later.
The woman was able to fight him off despite suffering numerous severe wounds. She was able to call 911 after Alex fled the apartment, prosecutors said.
The child who was at the residence at the time was uninjured and placed with a responsible adult, Neumann said.
Prosecutors said Alex then donned a mask and stopped at a nearby Meijer to purchase over-the-counter medication and a new jacket.
He was eventually apprehended by officers of the Crystal Lake and Algonquin police departments approximately an hour later in Algonquin after his car was located in a nearby hotel parking lot.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said she commends the “strength the victim showed” in fighting off the suspect and for her courage to testify and recount the “horrific ordeal” to the jury.
“While the method of the attack was uncommonly brutal in this case, there was also a classic escalating cycle of violence that was readily identifiable as well. As a society, we recognize the need to stop this dangerous cycle from its inception,” Freese said.
Freese also recognized the “hard work” conducted by the officers and detectives from the Crystal Lake Police Department.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 5. Alex, who remains held in the McHenry County Jail, faces a minimum of 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.