Man Beat Crystal Lake Woman With Hatchet, Hammer, Fled: Police

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — A 57-year-old man is in police custody and has been charged with attempted murder after police said he beat a woman with a hatchet and a hammer before leaving the scene of the crime.

Mark Alex, Crystal Lake, was arrested in Algonquin Saturday afternoon and charged with two counts of attempted murder, domestic battery, and one count of endangering the life of a child, police said.

Alex appeared in court on Monday is being held on a $2 million bond and needs to pay 10 percent to be released from jail. Alex was also ordered to surrender his passport and was told not to leave the state without permission. He must also wear a monitoring device, according to court records.

Alex was arrested after police responded to the 1300 block of Skyridge Drive for a report of a domestic incident. There, they found a woman with significant injuries to her head that were caused by a hatchet and hammer, police said. The woman was taken to a local hospital, where she remains, police said.

Police said that there was a child present in the home at the time of the attack, but they were not injured and were put into the temporary custody of a responsible adult.

Alex was located around 6:14 p.m. in Algonquin and taken into custody. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing but police believe this is an isolated incident and said there is no danger to the community.