Arlington Heights man charged with killing wife with hatchet gets trial date
An Arlington Heights man accused fatally assaulting his wife with a hatchet last year outside the Wisconsin home where she had gone to escape him will face trial early next year on murder, kidnapping and mayhem charges.
A Racine County judge on Monday scheduled a jury trial to begin Feb. 1 for Christian Loga-Negru, 38, who could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted in the Nov. 19 slaying of Roxana Abrudan. He has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities say Abrudan, 36, fled to her employer's home in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, last year after her marriage to Loga-Negru turned violent after their July 2014 wedding.
According to Racine County authorities, Loga-Negru tracked his wife down and attacked her with a hatchet outside the residence. He then dragged her through the snow and into a car, and drove to a nearby Super 8 Motel.
Police found both at the motel a short time later, but efforts to save Abrudan were unsuccessful. Loga-Negru, who authorities say was covered in blood, was arrested without incident.
Authorities say police searching Loga-Negru's motel room found multiple passports and ID cards, paperwork regarding a Cook County restraining order his wife had filed against him, and a box for the hatchet used in the attack. Investigators believe Loga-Negru intended to kill Abrudan and flee to his native Romania, Racine County District Attorney W. Richard Chiapete previously said.
According to police reports released in January by the Arlington Heights Police Department after a Freedom of Information Act request, Abrudan sought help from law enforcement several times in the months leading up to her murder. On Nov. 3, she received an order of protection against Loga-Negru at the Cook County courthouse in Rolling Meadows.