Man Charged With Fatal Stabbing Of Teacher At Naperville Bar
Updated 2/4/12 at 5:57 p.m.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (STMW) - Shaun Wild died trying to save a buddy on a Naperville nightclub dance floor.
The recent North Central College graduate was fatally stabbed while attempting to stop a man from attacking his former football teammate -- two-year All-Conference defensive end William Hayes III.
Sources told the Sun-Times that a patron at Frankie's Blue Room at 16 W. Chicago Ave. in Naperville had been taunting Hayes -- a muscular, tattooed college senior who everyone calls Willie -- for wearing a tight shirt. Hayes was seen arguing with the unidentified man near the dance floor just before getting stabbed near the sternum. Wild, a punter on North Central's 2010 football team, tried to stop the attack and was fatally stabbed in the upper abdomen by a weapon that may have pierced his heart, a source said.
Hayes remains hospitalized in fair condition and is expected to recover. He was alert and talking Saturday, North Central football team chaplain Gary Ireland said.
A third man, a bar bouncer, also was stabbed. The bar employee was treated for his injuries and later released, authorities said.
Naperville police arrested Daniel Olaska, 27, of Naperville at the scene. Olaska was charged with first-degree murder, and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to a DuPage County State's Attorney spokesman. Olaska is scheduled to appear in bond court Sunday.
Wild, 24, of Brown Deer Wisconsin, graduated with a bachelor's degree in education from North Central in December and started teaching at Spring Brook Elementary School in Naperville this year.
"I'm excited to be in this field at a time when many recognize the importance of a male influence in the classroom," Wild was quoted as saying on the North Central College website. "When I was in grade school, I wasn't the best student. But a couple of male teachers influenced me for good at a critical time, and I want to do the same for others."
At North Central, Wild served as president of the Student Leaders Association of Teacher Educators and a member of the student-athlete honor society and football team.
"Shaun was an incredible leader of students. He was kind of the big brother for students here, particularly guys on the football team," Ireland said. "You would be hard pressed to find anybody to say anything but glowing things about Shaun."
Hayes, 22, of Lemont, was a football team captain last season and is currently finishing his degree in physical education, school officials said.
"Willie is a leader in a much more vocal way," Ireland said. "He's an extremely joyful, positive person, an extrovert in a great way. He was kind of the heart and soul of the team."
At the campus dining hall Saturday, many North Central students were in tears.
"There's a general kind of numbness on campus. Students are in shock," Ireland said.
They are not ones to get in brawls or be troublemakers. These are two people you can't believe this happened to."
Counselors were available at North Central's campus Saturday and a crisis team will be on hand to help younger students cope with Wild's death at Spring Brook on Monday, according to officials at the schools.
A vigil is planned at North Central College at 7 p.m. Saturday.
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