A woman has been charged with fatally stabbing her daughter’s father in the neck with a kitchen knife during a heated row.
Deanna Coakley, 27, is accused of killing Joseph Strock, 31, at her home in the city of Warrenville in DuPage County in the US state of Illinois on 13th February.
DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement on 16th February: “DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin and Warrenville Chief of Police Raymond Turano announced today that bond has been set for a Warrenville woman charged with the murder of her daughter’s father, thirty-one-year-old Joseph Strock.
“On February 13, 2022, at approximately 6:51 p.m., Warrenville police officers responded to a call at Coakley’s residence for a report of a woman screaming.
“Upon their arrival, officers found Coakley on top of a male, later identified as Strock, near the front of the residence directly in front of the door.”
The statement continued: “Strock was bleeding from the neck and a large pool of blood was under his body. Strock was transported to a local hospital for a laceration to the right side of his neck and was pronounced deceased.
“Following an investigation by the Warrenville Police Department, it is alleged that at some point in the evening, a verbal altercation between Coakley and Strock turned physical at which time Coakley stabbed Strock in the neck with a kitchen knife.
“It is alleged that following the stabbing, Strock exited the apartment and collapsed on the ground outside the front door where authorities found him.”
State attorney Robert B. Berlin said: “Nationwide, domestic violence remains a silent epidemic that unfortunately occurs predominantly behind closed doors.
“If left unchecked however, the consequences can be deadly, as is alleged in this case. I urge anyone who finds themselves in an abusive relationship to seek help from any of a multitude of social service programs available throughout the country that offer assistance and guidance to people in an abusive relationship.”
The Warrenville police chief said: “I am extremely pleased that through the hard work and professionalism of the Warrenville Police Department, DuPage County MERIT and the DuPage County Coroner’s Office, we were able to bring a successful resolution to this tragic incident.”
Coakley is next expected to appear in court on 10th March. Her bond has been set at USD 1 million.