Weather suspends sentencing for Lombard man who attacked family

Powerful storms that rolled through the region Friday caused a DuPage County judge to abruptly suspend the sentencing hearing for a Lombard man who admitted stabbing his estranged wife and teenage daughter.

Electricity in the courtroom went out just as 46-year-old Christopher S. Rood's youngest child was about to read a victim's impact statement ahead of Judge John Kinsella sentencing Rood to a prison sentence of between 26 years and 90 years.

Rood's teenage son, Ben, had just listened to his 19-year-old sister Molly read her statement about how the September 2008 attack changed her and her family's life. She urged Kinsella for a harsh sentence, detailing a history of physical abuse that she, her two brothers and mother suffered at the hands of her father.

"I have been scarred both physically and mentally from that night," Molly Rood said. "I can tell you, without a degree of doubt, that by setting my father free, you would be allowing him to finish what he tried to do."

Rood's now-ex-wife Jayne also was expected to read a statement ahead of the sentencing. The son and ex-wife are now expected read their statements Monday morning.

Mental health experts testified earlier in the day on Rood's behalf, detailing his history of bipolar disorder and mild autism. The psychiatrists testified that Rood's anti-social behavior was a manifestation of his autism diagnosis. Rood also was taking prescription drugs to treat his bipolar disorder, but had stopped taking the medications before the attack, the doctors testified.

Prosecutors David Bayer and Audriana Anderson had the doctors acknowledge that despite any mental health issues, Rood knew the difference between right and wrong when he attacked his wife and daughter.

Rood was unemotional throughout most of the hearing. He was admonished once by deputies to turn around after he moved his chair as his crimes were being described to look at his ex-wife, children and several other family members who were in the gallery.

Lombard police officers also testified early in the hearing and described a grisly scene when they located Jayne Rood in her bedroom following the attack.

"She was pretty much covered in blood from head to toe," officer Eric Gouty testified. "Her face had suffered a cut and you could see some type of bone, jaw or cheek."

Police had to remove the woman from the house before paramedics arrived because they smelled natural gas. Officers discovered someone had turned over the stove in the kitchen and cut the gas line. Ben Rood told police he saw his father dislodge the oven and cut the line.

Molly Rood told police her father had cut her when she tried to intervene in the attack on her mother. Both women survived their injuries, but Jayne Rood was hospitalized for more than two weeks and underwent several surgeries to repair her liver, stomach and diaphragm.

Rood broke into the former couple's house three months after Jayne Rood filed for divorce from her husband of 21 years.

Rood fled the scene before police arrived, but was located minutes later in Wheaton where he tried to elude police again. A police dog found Rood hiding in a creek.

Police said he was submerged to his head when he was located. A bloodstained knife with a five-inch blade was recovered from Rood's van following his arrest, officers testified.

Rood pleaded guilty to home invasion and armed violence in April. The couple's divorce was finalized just before Rood entered a guilty plea.