Schaumburg hammer victim upgraded to good condition

A Schaumburg man put in a coma after what police allege was a hammer attack by a 15-year-old girl March 29 was upgraded to good condition Wednesday morning.

Rajesh Thakkar, 58, has been treated at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge since the attack in the foyer of his apartment building. Early on in his stay he underwent surgeries to his brain and eye.

Thakkar's 15-year-old neighbor was charged with attempted murder, armed robbery and aggravated battery. She remains in custody at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, where she was put on suicide watch after threatening to kill herself.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office is working on a request to transfer the girl's case to adult court, though the motion has not yet been filed. The girl's next hearing in juvenile court is May 25.

The girl's 18-year-old sister, Latifa Johnson, is already being prosecuted in adult court for obstruction of justice.

Investigators say they believe Johnson played no part in the actual attack on Thakkar, but have accused her of attempting to clean up his blood in the foyer of the apartment building before police and paramedics arrived.

Johnson's next court date is May 18.

Schaumburg police said robbery is the apparent motive of the 15-year-old's alleged attack of Thakkar as he went to check his mailbox in the foyer of the apartment building they share on the 100 block of Pickwick Drive after his evening shift at an Elgin gas station.

Investigators believe the girl tried to drag Thakkar out the back door of the building toward the man-made pond after striking him on the head with a hammer.