Antioch Township murder trial scheduled to begin Tuesday
The trial of a 43-year-old Antioch Township man accused of killing his estranged girlfriend is scheduled to begin Tuesday, officials said.
Michael Axtell is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the October, 2012, death of Tammy Stone at the home they shared in the 26000 block of West Bond Avenue. Axtell pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2013, and remains held in Lake County jail on $3 million bond.
His trial was scheduled to start with jury selection Monday, but Axtell opted instead for a bench trial with a judge. Judge Victoria Rossetti delay the start of the trial until witnesses will be available Tuesday.
According to police, Stone and Axtell were not married, but had been in a long-term relationship and lived together on-and-off in the Antioch Township home.
Police said Stone phoned her daughter about 10 p.m. on Oct. 4 to say she was in a physical altercation with Axtell. The call prompted the teen to drive to the home, where she saw Stone with a black eye and confronted Axtell, police said.
The daughter retreated to an attached garage to calm down after having a verbal argument with Axtell, police said, when she heard a loud "thud" from inside the residence.
The daughter found Stone unresponsive in a bedroom and Axtell walking out the front door, authorities said.
The daughter phoned police, authorities said, and paramedics took Stone to Centegra Hospital - McHenry, where she later died from her injuries. The McHenry County Coroner's Office ruled Stone had died from blunt force trauma.
Axtell was arrested by Lake County sheriff's deputies on a nearby roadway about 90 minutes later.