Family of Victim in Deer Park Stabbing Says She Has Long Recovery Ahead

A young woman who ran for help after being stabbed several times outside of a suburban movie theater is now recovering. 

Katie King, a 24-year-old from Vernon Hills, was stabbed more than 20 times inside her car in the parking lot of the Century Theater at 21600 W. Field Pkwy. in Deer Park. King was stabbed by her co-worker, Daniel J. Dion, 18, of Des Plaines, who asked her out to a movie that night.

Dion later told detectives, "he woke up in the morning with the intent to kill King because she annoyed him."

King, who was stabbed in her face, neck and lungs, loves to sing and wanted to be a music teacher one day, her family said.

"She was actually singing before speaking," Mary King, the woman's mother, said.

Right now, King can't do any singing or speaking due to her injuries. She is communicating with her family through writing, where she has expressed that she wants to thank everyone for their kind words and support.

Mary King said she hasn't had time to be angry and does not want to talk about Dion. Instead, she's focusing on her daughter's recovery.

"It's going to be a long road, yeah it is," Mary King said. "But she's strong. She is so strong."

Mary King said she is grateful her daughter had the strength to run inside to the theater lobby and ask for help after she was stabbed, and she wants to thank the doctors and staff at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, where Katie King is recovering. 

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