Des Plaines man found guilty of trying to kill woman
A Lake County jury has found Daniel Dion guilty of trying to kill a woman outside a Deer Park movie theater while on a date.
The jury also determined the 20-year-old Des Plaines man was not insane or mentally ill, as his lawyer claimed, when he repeatedly stabbed Katie King, 25, of Vernon Hills as they sat in a car in the parking lot of Century Theater at Deer Park Town Center.
He is scheduled to return to court Dec. 6 for a motion to reconsider verdict. If Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes rules against the motion, Dion can be sentenced up to 30 years in prison.
Dion has been on trial since Monday for attacking King. He and King were co-workers and had previously dated when they decided to go to a movie Jan. 8, 2015. They drove two minutes to the theater in her car, then smoked some marijuana in the front seat.
King testified Dion "aggressively" kissed her in the vehicle before she felt an "explosion of liquid" on her. She said she thought Dion hit her with a water bottle until she saw she was covered in her own blood.
Dion repeatedly tried to stab her with a 4-inch serrated knife as she screamed for help and tried to escape, King said. She finally broke free, but not until she was stabbed or cut on her face, back, neck, arms and chest.
She ran to the movie theater, where employees called police. Dion walked to his car and tried to get away, but the vehicle wouldn't start.
Authorities arrested Dion about a half-hour later walking in an industrial area. When he was arrested, Dion dropped to his knees and said of the voices he was allegedly hearing, "He made me do it," authorities said
During closing arguments, defense attorney Ian Kasper said Dion was "insane when he brutally attacked King inside her car, smirking and smiling."
A clinical psychologist testified Dion was under the legal definition of being insane at the time of the attack because he didn't truly understand the criminality of his conduct.
However, assistant state's attorneys Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg and Michael Ori argued Dion was pretending to be insane to avoid prison.
They pointed to evidence that showed Dion wrote notes before the stabbing on how to get away with murdering King. He also told his family members in jail phone calls he was faking insanity because he'd rather be sent to a mental institution.
"He was not affected by a mental disorder on the date of this offense," Ori told the jury. "What he was, was caught."
Had jurors found Dion not guilty due to insanity or guilty but mentally ill, Dion would have been sentenced to a mental health institution for treatment. After treatment, he would have been released on the insanity verdict, or sent to prison on the mental health verdict.