Man accused of murdering wife with hatchet competent for trial
An Arlington Heights man accused of murdering his wife with a hatchet last month will appear in court for a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning in Racine County, Wisconsin, where the gruesome killing took place.
Cristian Loga-Negru, 38, faces charges of murder, kidnapping and mayhem stemming from the Nov. 19 slaying of Roxana Abrudan in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, where authorities said she had been hiding from him at a friend's home.
Earlier this month, Loga-Negru was declared competent for trial by a doctor in Wisconsin who assessed his conduct, demeanor and understanding of the proceedings, according to court documents.
At the time of the competency hearing on Dec. 19, Loga-Negru had yet to hire an attorney. He does not meet the requirements for a public defender but told the court he has had difficulty reaching family overseas to obtain funds to hire a lawyer. Loga-Negru is a Romanian citizen who attended law school in Romania and the United States.
Loga-Negru and his 36-year-old wife, both of Arlington Heights, had married in July, but the relationship turned violent soon after, according to an order of protection Abrudan had recently obtained against her husband detailing months of abuse.
Loga-Negru is accused of tracking Abrudan to Mount Pleasant where she had been staying with a friend, attacking her with a hatchet, then dragging her body into a car and driving to a nearby motel, where police apprehended him. Abrudan died later that night at a Milwaukee hospital.
"This is as brutal a case as I think we will ever see," Racine County District Attorney W. Richard Chiapete said during a bond hearing last month.
Loga-Negru faces life plus 85 years in prison if convicted. He has been held without bond since his arrest.
Cook County court records show Loga-Negru had finalized a divorce in April, three months before marrying Abrudan, from a woman he married in 2010. That's the same year, records show, he got divorced from another woman.