Prosecutor: Slain Gurnee woman was threatened by ex-husband
A Lake County prosecutor is asking a judge to allow hearsay statements from 13 witnesses who would testify that a Kenosha man threatened to kill his ex-wife prior her September 2015 murder.
David Brocksom, 44, is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Beata Brocksom in her Gurnee-area home.
The witness statements would show that Brocksom previously threatened his ex-wife and she feared he would kill her, according to court filings from prosecutors.
The filings also indicate the former spouses leveled child molestation accusations against each other during their divorce proceedings.
Prosecutors say the fatal shooting occurred Sept. 27, 2015, when David Brocksom barged into Beata Brocksom's house on the 3700 block of Pacific Avenue and shot her as the two fought over a gun. He remains held in Lake County jail on $3 million bail, authorities said.
Authorities say David Brocksom told police he left his two children at a Wisconsin Dells hotel that day to confront his former wife after the couple's 9-year-old daughter said she was molested by her mother.
The two got into an argument that quickly escalated to a fist fight, according to his account. David Brocksom told police he was struck in the face with an object that knocked him out, and when he regained consciousness, his ex-wife was standing over him with a gun, authorities said.
He said they wrestled for the weapon and two shots were fired. One hit Beata Brocksom in the neck, authorities said.
The motion to allow hearsay testimony claims Beata Brocksom feared her ex-husband so much that she would not allow him into her home to argue, as David Brocksom told police. It also argues that because of prior accusations of abuse, it is unlikely David Brocksom would have left his children in a Wisconsin hotel and driven to Gurnee to confront his ex-wife.
A hearing on the prosecutor's motion is scheduled for Sept. 27.