Ex-Marine gets 8 years for bayonet stabbing at mall
A former Marine pleaded guilty Thursday to stabbing his ex-girlfriend with a seven-inch bayonet at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee last year and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
William R. Clark III, 22, of the 1400 block of Winaki Trail, Algonquin, must serve 85 percent of his sentence for attempted first-degree murder.
Judge Timothy Sheldon accepted the plea from Clark, who had been in jail since his arrest on April 7, 2010, and faced a top sentence of 30 years behind bars.
“It was a pretty straightforward case,” said Assistant State’s Attorney David Belshan. “(Clark) went to her place of work and decided to attack her. It was pretty obvious what happened.”
Belshan said Clark went to his ex-girlfriend’s place of work, Bath & Body Works, at the mall, at about 8:30 p.m. April 7 and forced her into the store’s bathroom. Clark stabbed the 21-year-old woman in her lower back and held the bayonet to her neck as she begged for her life, Belshan said.
They both came out of the bathroom and store employees and mall security guards detained Clark until police arrived. The woman survived but sustained a bruised contusion, torn kidney and other injuries and was hospitalized.
Belshan said Clark later confessed to the stabbing to police, who recorded his statement.
Clark, who had no previous criminal history, told a judge during an April 2010 bond hearing that he was discharged from the U.S. Marines in fall 2008 because he had suicidal thoughts and wanted to hurt himself.
After the plea, Clark waved to his family members in court. Afterward, they declined to comment, along with defense attorney Michael Norris.