A Chicago woman wearing a “Scream” mask allegedly broke into an apartment on the city’s South Side and stabbed another woman multiple times in a “truly random” attack as the victim dog sat for her son, authorities said.
Patricia Calhoun-Murdock, 20, was arrested Friday and charged with attempted first-degree murder, home invasion and residential burglary roughly two weeks after the violent attack, according to police. She was reportedly ordered held without bond Sunday.
The stabbing took place just before 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 1 in the 4200 block of South Union Avenue in the city’s Canaryville neighborhood, authorities said.
There, a 56-year-old woman was found stabbed by officers and was taken to University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition, police said.
The woman had been caring for her son’s dog while he was away and fell asleep on a couch when she was awakened by a woman in a “Scream” mask holding a knife, the Chicago Tribune reports. The victim begged the masked attacker not to hurt her before the woman holding the knife said “God is making me do this,” officials with the Cook County State's Attorney's office said in bond court Sunday.
Following the attack, the knife-wielding woman showered before sitting in the kitchen to eat and watch TV, authorities alleged. The victim’s daughter-in-law arrived at the home and the 56-year-old told her to leave and call 911, which she did, according to the state's attorney's office. The attacker then hit the woman with a bat repeatedly while threatening to kill her if she told anyone.
The woman was treated for 39 stab wounds, one of which punctured her heart, and a broken right arm, officials confirmed.
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Calhoun-Murdock was reportedly found by Chicago police with a Kindle reader that had been stolen from the apartment where the attack happened. She also allegedly left a cellphone case with her driver’s license and wallet.
The Tribune reports she told authorities after her arrest that she had “mental health concerns.”
A judge reportedly cited the "truly random and violent nature of the crime" while ordering her held without bond.
