Guilty verdict in North Aurora attempted murder case

In his third attempt at a trial in Kane County, a North Aurora man was convicted Wednesday of charges he tried to suffocate his wife with a plastic bag.

A jury deliberated about six hours before finding Dariusz Hrehorowicz, 37, guilty of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful restraint. The case ended in mistrials twice earlier this year - once when a jury couldn't reach a verdict, and again when Hrehorowicz's accuser passed out on the witness stand.

Wednesday's decision followed extensive closing arguments in both sides of the case, which centered on charges Hrehorowicz tried to kill his wife after she began legal proceedings to end their 14-year marriage last year.

Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stajdohar said the pending divorce filled Hrehorowicz with a "seething, jealous anger that kept escalating" until Jan. 23, 2008, when he lured the woman into a closet at their home and pulled a plastic bag tightly over her head.

"There is only one reason to put a bag over someone's head - to kill them," Stajdohar said.

Defense attorney Urszula Czuba-Kaminski argued Hrehorowicz actually had been pummeled by his wife and was not conscious for part of the altercation. She portrayed him as having been framed and guilty only of "loving his wife too much."

After the attack, prosecutors said, Hrehorowicz's wife ran barefoot through snow from the couple's house on the 600 block of Graham Road, jumped over a fence and called police from a neighbor's house. According to the defense, the woman often jumped over the fence instead of using the gate.

Hrehorowicz faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing Aug. 26 before Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon, who has presided over the case all three times.