Illinois man charged with assault following wife’s death

Our readers may have seen recent news articles that report that an Illinois Department of Corrections prison guard was recently charged with felony third degree domestic assault following the death of his new wife, who was also a prison guard. His bail was set at $100,000. The couple, who apparently had been married since May of this year, allegedly attended a Cardinals-Cubs game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. According to the man, he and his wife had argued during the game.

The woman was found dead at the bottom of a nearby parking garage, and the man was seen straddling her body when police arrived. According to court documents, the man was allegedly agitated and seemed to be intoxicated at the time.

The man apparently denied being on the garage roof and said that there was no physical altercation between him and his wife. However, authorities said that the cell phone video and audio from the woman’s phone showed otherwise. The woman’s cellphone was found in the garage and the video camera was still rolling at the time. According to detectives, the man and woman were arguing on the video and the woman apparently yelled at the man to stop punching her face. Shortly thereafter, the woman dropped the phone, but she was allegedly heard screaming as she fell.

Before preparing a criminal defense strategy to protect you against the charges you face, you should be aware of the consequences you may face if convicted. Under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, any Illinois resident who threatens, harasses or commits a violent act towards one of their family or household members could face domestic violence charges. In most cases, an alleged perpetrator with no previous violent crime convictions on their record will face a Class A misdemeanor charge, which could lead to up to one year in jail. However, if you have one or more prior violent crime convictions you could face a Class IV felony charge. For domestic violence incidents with severe aggravating factors, such as intent to inflict great bodily harm or causing permanent disability, that would result in a Class II felony charge and three to seven years in prison.