Prosecutors say a man repeatedly punched a woman in the head and pistol-whipped her during an attack where he also pointed the gun at her head and pulled the trigger in Mundelein.
The Mundelein Fire Department and Mundelein Police Department responded around 5:41 a.m. on July 26 to the 1400 block of Churchill Court in Mundelein for a report of a person injured in a disturbance.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said officers received a call for a naked man and a naked woman who were arguing outside and the woman was bleeding.
Officers arrived and spoke to the female victim, who stated it was her fault and she had fallen down the stairs.
The woman was naked and bleeding from her head, Theis said. She appeared intoxicated.
Officers spoke with the victim’s husband, identified as Raymond Trendler, 27, of Mundelein, who was also naked and “talking nonsense.” He admitted to drinking alcohol and using cocaine.
Officers went to their apartment and found the door open with blood on a door inside.
A safety sweep was conducted and they located a large amount of blood and a handgun on the floor of a bathroom.
The gun was a black semi-automatic Glock 19 handgun that was unloaded. Theis said the gun was covered in blood and had hair on the rear sights by the slide.
A witness told officers she heard a woman banging on her door and yelling for help.
The witness saw on her Ring camera a man, later identified as Trendler, strike the female victim in the back as the woman was continuing to flee down the hall, Theis said.
Paramedics transported Trendler and the victim to the hospital. Officers interviewed both parties again.
Trendler said he came home that night and started drinking alcohol while consuming cocaine before blacking out.
He said he did not remember anything until he woke up in the hospital, Theis said.
The victim said that after Trendler consumed alcohol and cocaine, he began walking around with his handgun in his waistband.
The woman said she did not like it and told Trendler to put the gun away, Theis said.
He became irate and started striking the victim in the head and face with the handgun, Theis said.
Theis said the victim fell to the ground from the beating and Trendler then put the gun to her head while pulling the trigger.
Trendler began striking the woman with a closed fist in the face and head multiple times, Theis said.
She was able to get up and run out of the apartment, at which time Trendler ran after her and continued attacking her, Theis said.
Theis said Trendler pushed the woman down the stairs and the two made it to the parking lot, at which time the police arrived. The two recently got married in June.
Additional camera footage recovered from inside the couple’s apartment corroborated the victim’s version of events.
Theis said Trendler could be seen carrying the handgun in his waistband before the beating began off-camera and the woman could be heard screaming.
“This defendant took his firearm and used it to severely beat his new wife, the victim, about the head and face. Then when she fell to the ground, he put the handgun to her head and pulled the trigger,” Theis said.
“The victim heard the click as the hammer struck the firing pin — it was only that there was no round in the chamber that kept the victim from being killed. When the gun did not go off, the defendant abandoned the firearm and continued to beat the victim with his fists,” Theis said.
Officers arrested Trendler and he was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of domestic battery.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Trendler pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the request during a detention hearing on Thursday.
An attorney representing Trendler argued for his release because he is the primary breadwinner for the couple and their cats and said that he has no criminal record.
Trendler remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday morning.