Schaumburg man gets nine years for stabbing stepson's sleeping friend

At the sentencing hearing for a Schaumburg man who admitted to stabbing a sleeping teenager, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Fecarotta asked the question everyone wanted answered.

"Why did you do it?" asked Fecarotta of the defendant, Michael Paetsch, who was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree murder Tuesday in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.

Paetsch, of the 2000 block of Farnham Court, mentioned something about a fear of gangs and a desire to protect his house. But prosecutors rejected that excuse, saying the 49-year-old was "impaired and under the influence" at 4:30 a.m. May 10 when he stabbed his stepson's 17-year-old friend as he slept.

"The attack was unprovoked. The victim was asleep," said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Mike Gerber.

Paetsch stabbed the teen multiple times in his chest, stomach and arm, which collapsed the victim's lung and diaphragm, requiring multiple surgeries and a six-day hospital stay, Gerber said.

Paetsch, whose record includes a misdemeanor DUI conviction, also stabbed himself and was hospitalized, prosecutors said.

Paetsch apologized to the victim, who was present in court, accompanied by his mother.

"I'm sorry to the whole family," he said. "It should never have happened."

Paetsch, who received credit for 332 days he has spent in Cook County Jail, faced up to 30 years in prison on the class X felony. He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.