Naperville man gets 10-year sentence for attempting to kill his wife

Patrick O’Brien, 63, of Naperville, was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for the attempted murder of his wife.

Will County Circuit Judge John Connor handed down the sentence, according to a news release from the Will County state’s attorney’s office.

O’Brien was found guilty Aug. 29 of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery after a bench trial.

On Dec. 21, 2019, the Naperville Police Department responded to 2204 Popple Court for a report that a man had stabbed his wife and himself.

O’Brien, who was separated from the victim at the time of the incident, had returned home to gather personal items, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

The victim was in the kitchen when O’Brien grabbed a large kitchen knife and said a statement to the effect of “if we’re done, then we’re done.”

The victim ran out of the house to the rear patio door of her neighbor’s home, screaming for them to open the door, according to the release.

Running toward her with the knife, O’Brien yelled at her and pushed her against the rear wall of the neighbor’s residence, according to the release.

As the victim held her hands up in an attempt to fend off the knife, O’Brien thrust it into her chest area and arm while yelling an expletive at her, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

The neighbor was able to open his door just in time to throw O’Brien down to the ground and prevent him from continuing to stab the woman.

O’Brien still was holding the victim at the time, and she was pulled down with him. O’Brien then stabbed himself and threw the knife, according to the release.

The incident was captured on the neighbor’s home surveillance system.

“The brutal attack shown in graphic detail on the home surveillance system captures the gruesome savagery of the attack by a controlling man who decided that if the marriage was over, then his wife should die. There is no question that the neighbor’s miraculous intervention saved Mrs. O’Brien’s life,” Glasgow said.

Patrick O’Brien will receive 38 days of credit for time served. The sentence will be served at 85%, and he will serve three years of mandatory supervised release.