Elgin man sentenced to 38 years in knife attack

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — An Elgin man has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for attacking and injuring a couple with a knife while they slept.

The Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake reports that 31-year-old Jimmy Bell must serve about 32 years before being eligible for parole in the July 2013 attack.

Prosecutors say Bell broke into a Crystal Lake home through a basement window in July 2013 and attacked his ex-girlfriend, Kelly Krause, and her new boyfriend, Jim McGill. They suffered multiple knife wounds that required surgery.

Bell pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

McHenry County judge Sharon Prather said nothing could “excuse or justify the cruel, vicious, brutal attack” on the victims.

Supporters of the victims wept after the judge sentenced Bell, but did not comment after the hearing.