Addison man pleads guilty to stabbing murder of wife, injuring stepson
An Addison man charged with murdering his wife and stabbing his teenage stepson in 2013 has pleaded guilty.
Kurtis Worley, 35, now faces between 26 and 90 years in prison after pleading guilty Friday morning to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
Assistant State's Attorney Nancy Donahoe said Worley repeatedly stabbed his 39-year-old wife, Martha Worley, in the head and body while she slept around 3 a.m. July 26, 2013, inside their home on North Craig Place.
Worley also slashed the throat of his 15-year-old stepson, injuring his pharynx, after he and his 12-year-old brother heard their mother scream and tried to intervene.
"The boys heard their mother screaming and began banging on the doors," Donahoe said. "Worley opened the bedroom door and slashed (the 15-year-old's) throat as they pleaded with him to stop. Worley slammed the door shut, and the boys got two knives from the kitchen and fled the house as they called for help."
Police arrived to find the boys outside, still on the phone with 911 and the oldest boy applying pressure to his wound.
Inside the home, she said, police found blood-smeared walls throughout the hallways and a washroom before breaking into Worley's bedroom, where they found Martha Worley in the bed, with brain matter exposed, and Kurtis Worley on the floor with self-inflicted knife wounds to his throat and wrists.
Donahoe said Worley admitted, in taped interviews after his release from the hospital, to being intoxicated and attacking his wife after she told him she wanted a divorce and refused to rekindle their relationship.
Donahoe said a 1.9-inch stab wound to Martha Worley's head left the broken tip of the knife lodged in her brain and likely caused her to be declared brain dead later that evening. Worley's stepson had emergency surgery on his pharynx and was released from the hospital several days later.
"This morning, Kurtis Worley took responsibility for the murder of his wife and brutal attack of his stepson," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "This has been a very disturbing case for all those involved. My thoughts and prayers go out to Martha's surviving family and friends. Her tragic death has been a jolt to those who knew her, and it is my sincerest hope that today's proceedings will in some way help them move on from this horrible chapter in their lives."
Worley's next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 25, at which time a sentencing hearing will be scheduled.