Police: Rosemont woman beat two children with screwdriver

A 26-year-old Rosemont woman is accused of beating two children in Hoffman Estates with a screwdriver, police said Tuesday.

Jessica M. Zander faces felony charges after police said she also battered a third person Monday afternoon before her arrest.

Officers sent to the 1700 block of Burr Ridge Drive on a disturbance call about 1:23 p.m. learned that a woman had beaten a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old with the screwdriver, Hoffman Estates police said in a news release.

Zander's relationship to the child victims remained undetermined Tuesday afternoon, but at this early stage of the investigation there doesn't appear to be one, Hoffman Estates police Sgt. Darin Felgenhauer said.

The victims' injuries were not serious and no one was taken to a hospital for treatment. The children appeared to have only red marks on their skin, Felgenhauer said.

Officers also were called to the 3800 block of Barberry Court after a woman matching the first suspect's description assaulted a neighbor while armed with a “pointed weapon,” police said.

The vehicle and suspect's description matched in both cases, according to police. Based on those descriptions, South Barrington police arrested Zander after locating her in a car at Barrington Road and Interstate 90.

She is charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a child and one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and is scheduled to appear in bond court Wednesday.