Warrenville Woman Charged In Fatal Stabbing Of Daughter's Father

WHEATON, IL — A 27-year-old Warrenville woman faces first-degree murder charges and is being held on $1 million bond after police said that she killed her daughter’s father on Sunday, the DuPage County State’s Attorney said on Wednesday.

Deanna Coakley appeared in court Wednesday morning on the charges, three days after she was arrested in connection with the killing of Joseph Strock, 27. Warrenville Police were called to Coakley’s home in the 31000 block of Village Green Court just before 7 p.m. on Sunday after they received reports of a woman screaming.

Officers arrived to find Coakley on top of Strock near the front door of her home, State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said Wednesday. Police said that Strock was bleeding from the neck and that a large pool of blood had formed under his body.

Strock was taken to a local hospital for a cut to the right side of his neck and was pronounced dead, Berlin’s office said. Warrenville Police believe that at some point in the evening, a verbal altercation between Coakley and Strock turned physical, and that Coakley stabbed Strock in the neck with a kitchen knife, Berlin said.

Police believe that following the stabbing, Strock left the apartment and collapsed on the ground outside the front door where police found him.

“Nationwide, domestic violence remains a silent epidemic that unfortunately occurs predominantly behind closed doors,” Berlin said in a news release. “If left unchecked however, the consequences can be deadly, as is alleged in this case.

“I urge anyone who finds themselves in an abusive relationship to seek help from any of a multitude of social service programs available throughout the country that offer assistance and guidance to people in an abusive relationship. I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Joseph Strock on their loss.”

Coakley is scheduled for arraignment on March 10.