According to Forbes Magazine (Forbes Advisor) half of all first marriages end in divorce. The divorce rate is higher for second and third marriages. But the overall divorce rate has been decreasing since 2000. Statistics also show the average length of a marriage is eight years.
Not knowing how long this couple had been married, I assume, based on the husband’s age, they’d been married longer than the average.
The 62-year-old husband arrived at the wife’s home to pick up some of his belongings. They were in the process of divorce and not living together. His estranged wife was in the kitchen. His anger overtook him, and he grabbed a kitchen knife and went after the woman, yelling expletives and saying,
“If we’re done, then we’re done.”
The wife ran out of the home and toward a neighbor’s home with her soon-to-be-ex-husband on her heels. He caught her and pushed her up against the neighbor’s home—not considering the crime was being recorded by the neighbor’s security camera.
He stabbed the knife into the woman’s chest. At that point, the neighbor pushed a rear door open, which knocked the attacker down. He pulled his wife down with him. The fall caused him to stab himself. Medics took both the victim and her attacker to a hospital. Their injuries weren’t life threatening. The authorities arrested the husband.
The husband chose a bench trial (verdict by judge—no jury). The judge found him guilty of first-degree attempted murder and aggravated domestic battery and sentenced him to 10 years in state prison. Because of the violent nature of his crime, the state requires he serve at least 85% of his sentence before he’s eligible for parole. After he’s paroled, he’ll serve three years of probation.
The State’s Attorney associated with this case said,
“This case bears out the stark reality in domestic violence that the most dangerous time for a survivor is when they leave their partner. Domestic violence is about control and power, and this harrowing near-deadly assault was the attempt at exerting ultimate control.”
If you or anyone you know is suffering from emotional abuse (or any type of abuse), there is confidential help available at the (USA) National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233. Here’s an interesting article about marriage and divorce along with statistics from Forbes Magazine. Revealing Divorce Statistics in 2024.
Source: Will County State’s Attorney, Forbes, Law & Crime, Naperville Sun