O’Brien Sentenced to 10 Years in 2019 Wife’s Attempted First Degree Murder Stabbing

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced Patrick O’Brien, 63, of Naperville, was sentenced recently by Circuit Judge John Connor to 10 years in prison in the attempted first degree murder of his wife. O’Brien was found guilty August 29, of Attempt First Degree Murder (a Class X felony) and Aggravated Domestic Battery (a Class 2 felony) following a bench trial.

On December 21, 2019, the Naperville Police Department responded to 2204 Popple Court for a report of a man who had stabbed his wife and himself. O’Brien, who was separated from the victim at the time of the incident, had returned home to gather personal items. The victim was in the kitchen when O’Brien grabbed a large kitchen knife and said a statement to the effect of “if we’re done, then we’re done.”

The victim ran out of the house to the rear patio door of her neighbor’s home, screaming for them to open the door. Running toward her with the knife, O’Brien yelled “you’re faster than I thought” and pushed her against the rear wall of the neighbors’ residence. As the victim held her hands up in an attempt to fend off the knife, O’Brien thrust it into her chest area and arm while yelling an expletive at her. The neighbor was able to open his door just in time to throw O’Brien down to the ground and prevent him from continuing to stab his wife. O’Brien was still holding the victim at the time, and she was pulled down with him. O’Brien then stabbed himself and threw the knife. The incident was captured on the neighbor’s home surveillance system.

“The brutal attack shown in graphic detail on the home surveillance system captures the gruesome savagery of the attack by a controlling man who decided that if the marriage was over then his wife should die. There is no question the neighbor’s miraculous intervention saved Mrs. O’Brien’s life,” Glasgow said. “This case bears out the stark reality in domestic violence that the most dangerous time for a survivor is when they leave their partner. Seventy-five percent of domestic violence homicides occur when the victim has left the relationship. Domestic violence is about control and power, and this harrowing near-deadly assault was the attempt at exerting ultimate control.”

O’Brien will receive 38 days credit for time served. The sentence will be served at 85 percent, and he will serve three years of mandatory supervised release.

State’s Attorney Glasgow thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Mary Beth Kent Duffy, Charlene Recio, and Sarah West, Victim Witness Advocate Mallory Magee, Naperville Detective Paul Elliot, Crime Scene Technician Kristyn Urgo, and Officer Jason Woods for their commitment and dedication in this matter.