68-year sentence in brutal Willowbrook stabbing, rape
Once he was in custody, Londale Madison told police that after he stabbed and raped his victim in August 2015, he thought about punching the woman so hard that she would pass out and not remember the attack.
He'd done it before, he said.
On Thursday, more than two years after the attack in Willowbrook, the 28-year-old victim locked eyes with Madison as she told DuPage County Judge George Bakalis that she still struggles with anxiety, fear of being alone, insomnia and depression.
“Since the defendant broke into my home, stabbed me 17 times, sexually assaulted me, beat me and then robbed me, my life has never been the same. Neither my family nor I will ever be able to forget that day,” she said, reading her victim impact statement. ”Though I am stronger now, the fear that I have is still very real. Since the defendant attacked me in my own home, the emotional and mental effects on me have left a lasting fear I never thought I would have to encounter.”
Bakalis sentenced the 33-year-old Madison to 68 years in prison.
Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Lindt argued for a maximum sentence of 100 years for the “incredibly violent and dangerous” Madison.
“If evil can be personified and man can be a weapon, that is what this defendant is,” Lindt said while detailing Madison's criminal history, which includes a 2003 aggravated battery conviction and an allegation that he sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl less than a month before the Willowbrook attack. “Nothing stops him. Hopefully this court stops him.”
In June, Madison, of South Bend, Indiana, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, home invasion and armed robbery in connection with the attack.
Willowbrook Detective Timothy Kobler testified that the victim was loading her car in a driveway around 1:10 p.m. Aug. 29, 2015, on the 700 block of 73rd Court when a dark blue Nissan Altima, belonging to Madison's girlfriend, pulled up and Madison approached and asked for money.
When the victim refused and ran into the house, Madison forced his way inside, stabbed her and sexually assaulted her.
Madison repeatedly demanded money during the attack and every time the victim failed to produce any cash, he stabbed her again.
“This was an attack on a completely innocent victim inside her own home, the place where everyone has the right to feel safe,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said after the hearing. “If you can't feel safe in your own home, then we're never going to be safe.”
When police arrived, the woman was naked and bloodied at a neighbor's house. She was taken to a hospital where she was treated for her injuries.
Berlin called the victim a hero.
“That's the best description I can give. She truly is a hero,” Berlin said. “To be able to come to court, deal with what she had to deal with, survive and cooperate with police and come to court and give that kind of statement is truly amazing.”
The victim suffered 12 broken bones around her eye, a broken nose and multiple stab wounds to her neck, torso and kidneys. She likely still faces additional surgeries.
Madison fled to Indiana after the attack. An investigation led by Willowbrook police and the DuPage County Felony Investigation Assistance Team led to his arrest.
Prosecutors said Madison's DNA was found inside the victim's home and the victim's purse and wallet were recovered from the car Madison was driving on the day of the attack.
In his videotaped confession, which was played in court Thursday, Madison said he deserves “the grave.”
“She didn't do nothing to deserve what I did to her, besides not giving me what I wanted,” he said.
On Thursday, Madison apologized and sought forgiveness from the victim and her family.
He has been held on $5 million bail since his arrest days after the attack.