Mount Pleasant police say a 38-year-old man from Arlington Heights, IL, is facing homicide charges after attacking and killing his 36-year-old wife Wednesday night with an ax.
The man was booked into the Racine County Jail on pending charges of mayhem with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. He will also now likely face a charge of 1st degree intentional homicide while armed because his wife died from being struck in the head with what police are describing as a “hatchet-like weapon.”
She was taken by Flight for Life to Froedtert Hospital but later died from her injuries.
Officers were originally dispatched to a home in the 600 block of Calvin Lane for a report of a domestic disturbance. Witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing a body being dragged across the grass. Police later learned that the man and his wife were separated, and she was at a friend’s house hiding from him.
The victim did have a restraining order against the man.
Police were called at about 8:30 p.m. to the Super 8, 1150 Oakes Road, for a report of a woman bleeding from the head. Mount Pleasant police Sgt. Eric Relich said officers quickly determined this call and the incident on Calvin Lane were related. When officers arrived, they found the victim with life threatening injuries after being struck with the hatchet-like weapon.
She was airlifted to Froedtert Hospital and died around 10 p.m., Relich confirmed.
The man was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Racine County Jail.
Names of the victim and the man are being withheld at this time pending notification to family.