Prosecutors: Digital audio recording captured Schaumburg woman’s torture, slaying

Authorities say the sexual assault and strangulation of a 43-year-old Schaumburg woman was captured on a digital audio recording device belonging to the man charged with her April 30 murder in the home they shared.

Katherine Torbick’s final, gasping breaths are captured on the recording which prosecutors say also contains threats by defendant Kevin D. Motykie.

On Friday, Cook County Judge Andreana Turano remanded Motykie, 56, to Cook County jail on first-degree murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault charges. He also faces aggravated domestic battery charges stemming from the March 12 strangulation of the victim.

Motykie and Torbick dated for 10 years and lived together. In early April, Torbick began dating another man. After the man was unable to contact Torbick on April 30, he became worried and went to her home at about 9 p.m. to investigate. When Torbick did not answer, he called 911. Police entered the home at about 11 p.m., prosecutors said. They discovered Torbick’s body on the couch and Motykie in the garage.

The more than 7-hour audio recording began around 2 a.m. April 30 and concluded just before 9:30 a.m.

“During that recording, the defendant handcuffed, sexually assaulted, beat, bound and ultimately strangled the victim to death,” said assistant Cook County state’s attorney Kathleen Hagerty.

The recording initially captured Torbick and Motykie arguing. Later, Torbick can be heard screaming at him to stop and pleading with him, Hagerty said.

After interrogating her about cheating, Motykie stated “it’s party time,” Hagerty said.

He subsequently struck Torbick, bound her in duct tape and strangled her multiple times prior to her death, Hagerty said. He also stated he would hang himself, Hagerty said.

According to the medical examiner, Torbick had ligature indentations, injuries to her wrists and ankles and bruising, among other injuries, Hagerty said. Torbick also experienced blunt force trauma to her mouth and head and neck trauma consistent with strangulation.

Police recovered handcuffs, pieces of duct tape along with a rope tied in a noose and hanging from a beam in the garage. Motykie, who police said appeared to be intoxicated, told authorities he had taken drugs. Taken to Ascension Saint Alexius in Hoffman Estates, he was released May 7 and arrested, according to Hagerty.

On March 12, prosecutors say Motykie accused Torbick of cheating, then strangled her, struck her and attempted to gouge her eyes. Motykie, who prosecutors say was armed with a knife, ordered her to leave. They made their way to the garage where Motykie told the woman she had 20 minutes to write a suicide note. The defendant then pulled her hair, held a knife to her scalp, struck her in the nose and threatened to kill himself, Hagerty said.

Torbick escaped to the home of a neighbor who called police. She told police the defendant was escalating and she “believed he would kill her,” Hagerty said. At that time, Schaumburg police were unable to locate the defendant. A judge issued an arrest warrant on March 16, which was outstanding at the time of the murder, according to Hagerty, who said Motykie had resumed living with Torbick as early as March 22.

Prosecutors say Motykie was the subject of three orders of protection from three separate people, including an ex-wife and a brother. His criminal background includes a felony forgery conviction and a misdemeanor theft conviction.

Assistant Cook County public defender Pete Benesh requested his client receive medical treatment.

“As the information you heard indicates, there is an underlying issue of mental illness in this case,” Benesh said.

Ordering Motykie’s detention, Turano described him as a “controlling and demanding” person “unable to control his aggression and his jealousy.”

“This defendant is a danger to all,” she said.

Motykie returns to court on May 29.