Montgomery mother, 47, charged with stabbing, trying to poison daughters

Montgomery police are still investigating what triggered a mother of three to stab her two youngest daughters and try to poison them with a mixture of household items, Chief Daniel Meyers said Saturday.

Pamela J. Christensen, 47, is being held in Kendall County jail on $1 million bail, which was set Thursday. Christensen has been charged with six counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated battery and three counts of aggravated unlawful restraint.

On the morning of Sept. 25, Montgomery police received two 911 phone calls - both times dialed by Christensen's second oldest daughter who hung up, Meyers said.

When officers arrived to the family's home on the 2300 block of Patron Lane, they found a homemade cocktail on a table that Christensen tried to force her three daughters to drink, police said.

The girls - two juveniles and a 19-year-old - did not ingest it, Meyers said. Police are awaiting results from an Illinois State Police crime lab test to determine what exactly the drink contained.

"But we're assuming that it was some household items that we're mixed together," Meyers said.

Police also said Christensen stabbed the two youngest with a knife. The daughters were taken to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora where they were treated and released Sept 25.

The three are now staying with their maternal grandfather, Meyers said.

Their mother was taken to Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora. She was released Oct. 8 and then taken into police custody, Meyers said. He would not say why she was admitted there because of privacy rules.

Earlier this year, Meyers had obtained an order of protection against her estranged husband. The couple are separated, Meyers said.

Police were called to the couple's home about two months ago when he was moving out personal items.

"We were there to keep the peace," Meyers said.

She is next due in court Oct. 16.