Gages Lake man admits to wife's murder

A Gages Lake man faces up to 45 years in prison after admitting Tuesday he stabbed his wife to death in 2007.

John Dean Jr., 59, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder during a hearing before Associate Judge Christopher Stride.

Nadine Dean, 48, died Feb. 20, 2007 of multiple stab wounds inflicted by her husband as the couple argued outside their home in the 33000 block of Oakland Drive.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Suzanne Willett said Dean, at the time an unemployed construction worker, and his wife were arguing over furniture in their rented home. Nadine Dean decided to leave the house and walked to her car.

John Dean grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen and followed her, and began stabbing her outside the house. Her screams, as she ran across the street to a neighbor's house, attracted the attention of several witnesses.

Nadine Dean collapsed on a neighbor's porch and John Dean fled in his wife's Mitsubishi Mirage.

The car was found later that day at an apartment complex near Golf and Linden streets in Waukegan, and a search of the area turned up no sign of Dean. He was caught that night when police received a tip he had just called a cab from a gas station on Lake Street in Waukegan.

Police said Dean gave them a videotaped confession to the crime.

John Dean had been charged twice with domestic battery against his wife before the murder, but only one of those cases resulted in a conviction.

Nadine Dean was a nurse at the county-run Winchester House for four years before her death.

Normally, the penalty for first-degree murder is a prison sentence of 20 to 60 years, but Dean's plea agreement limits Stride to a maximum 45-year sentence. Dean is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6.