A man has been found fit to stand trial after he allegedly became enraged over a job application and tried to murder a clerk, leaving her severely injured, before trying to blow up the gas station in Woodstock.
Austin Silverman, 29, of Woodstock, was charged in December with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery in a public place and criminal damage to property.
The charges stem from an attack that the Woodstock Police Department received a call for around 10:13 a.m. on December 31 at the Shell gas station, 110 North Eastwood Drive.
Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb said it was reported that the on-duty clerk was struck multiple times by an unknown suspect while inside the store.
Officers arrived and found the victim and immediately called for the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District.
The woman had suffered significant injuries after being attacked, Lieb said. Prosecutors said she suffered severe injuries to her face, ribs and arms.
Prosecutors say Silverman walked into the gas station and approached the clerk working behind the counter.
He inquired with the clerk for a job application but his request was denied.
Silverman became enraged and crossed the threshold behind the counter, prosecutors said.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Silverman “maliciously attacked” the clerk by punching her multiple times in the head and face.
He also kicked and stomped the victim numerous times during the attack and threw her into a wall, the complaint said.
The complaint said Silverman bashed the victim’s head into the wall numerous times and used a wooden club to beat her.
Silverman then pressed the wooden club against her neck and continued to strike the victim in the head with more punches, the complaint said.
Prosecutors said Silverman stopped the brutal attack and left the store. The clerk managed to get to her feet and lock the door.
Silverman then attempted to unsuccessfully blow up the gas station by extinguishing a cigarette into a gas pump, prosecutors said.
He returned to the store moments later and tried to come back inside. The complaint said that Silverman stated that he intended to kill the victim.
A McHenry woman, who is a close friend of the survivor, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner in January that the suspect was almost three times the victim’s size.
“But, she found the strength to lock that door and save her life. She will have a long road ahead of her,” the friend said.
The survivor, who has asked to have her identity withheld, was left with a severely blackened and bruised eye. Her vision and eyes are still intact.
She suffered a laceration to her eyebrow and severe swelling to her neck, behind her ears and even inside of her ears.
“Luckily, she has no eye damage and no known concussion. The swelling has gone down over her body but she’s covered in bruises,” the friend said in January.
Both of her legs were covered in severe bruises and were swollen-looking.
Her left side was severely bruised and she had three broken ribs under the bruising.
Her right elbow was broken and she had to undergo surgery, which doctors said was more involved than expected.
The woman was mentally processing what happened and taking it “day by day,” the friend said, adding that she is “incredibly strong.”
Officers quickly located Silverman after the attack and took him into custody without incident.
Silverman was transported to the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock and appeared for an Initial Appearance Court hearing where McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted a petition to detain filed by the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Lamb found that there were no conditions of release that the court could impose to keep the community safe based on his dangerousness.
“This was a brutal, heinous, and unprovoked attack on a defenseless woman. We are pleased that, after the hearing, our petition to detain this dangerous defendant was granted and that he will remain in custody pending the outcome of these charges,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said after the hearing.
Defense attorneys for Silverman filed a motion after his arrest seeking the court to require a fitness examination and a judge granted the request.
Silverman was declared unfit to stand trial in March and ordered to undergo inpatient treatment in the custody of the Department of Human Services (DHS), court records show.
DHS sent a letter to the court early last month saying they could not comply with the requirement of submitting an initial admission report within 30 days because Silverman had not been admitted, as they were backlogged with the number of persons waiting for admission into their mental health treatment facilities.
Silverman was seen on April 23 and May 8 by an examiner while in the McHenry County Jail.
DHS said that he was making “noted improvements” with compliance with his medications but the Elgin Mental Health Center, which was at full capacity, remained his best suit.
McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt found Silverman was restored and fit to stand trial following a fitness hearing held on Thursday.
Silverman was arraigned on the charges and pleaded not guilty. He remains held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again on August 6 for a status of trial date hearing.