9-year-old child stabbed inside north suburban Chicago home, suspect charged
BEACH PARK, Ill. (CBS) – A man appeared in court charged with stabbing a 9-year-old girl multiple times inside a Lake County, Illinois home Thursday afternoon.
Demetrius Fisher, 30, appeared in front of a judge for the first time Friday morning. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported, Fisher appeared with his head down and hands tied behind his back.
According to prosecutors, he admitted to stabbing the child inside the home. When he was told she was still alive, he was surprised and told investigators, "But did you see her neck?"
Lake County Sheriff's deputies responded to a townhome in the 38000 block of North Manor Avenue in Beach Park for a report of a stabbing.
The child was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with critical, life-threatening injuries, sheriff's police said.
Police learned of a 30-year-old male suspect in the incident who allegedly left the home before deputies arrived. The suspect was found at a nearby train station, where he was arrested. It was later revealed he was dating the child's mother and living in the home with the family.
On Thursday morning, the child's mother was called by officials at the child's school and asked why they were not in attendance. The mother returned to their home and saw Fisher exiting the home. He ran away upon seeing her, police said. The mother entered the home and found her child inside with multiple stab wounds.
Prosecutors say Fisher covered his hand with an oven mitt and started punching the girl before pulling a knife on her. She was found with wounds to her arms, back, and neck.
Neighbor Alexandra Mireles said the ordeal was, "scary, because I have kids too. It's kind of crazy. You would never think that right by your house, something like that could happen."
Police said the stabbing posed no danger to the community.
What exactly happened that made Fisher angry enough to punch and stab the child wasn't made clear in court. He is scheduled to appear back in court for a detention hearing Friday afternoon in Lake County.