Man guilty of 2017 attempted murder of ex-wife at Sugar Grove gas station
A Kane County judge rejected an Indiana man's claim that he was just trying to hurt his ex-wife in 2017 when he went to the Sugar Grove gas station where she worked, put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger, then beat her, stole her wedding ring and choked her into unconsciousness.
After a two-day bench trial, Judge D.J. Tegeler found Kennrith L. Foster, 50, of East Chicago, guilty Tuesday of attempted murder and nine other felonies in the Dec. 17, 2017 attack on the woman, whose life was spared by what prosecutors characterized as a "spoiled" bullet.
According to a surveillance video shown at trial, Foster cornered the woman in the gas station's back office, put a silver .38-caliber handgun to the right side of her head, and pulled the trigger.
A bullet became lodged in her scalp, but did not have enough force to kill her or eject the shell casing from the semi-automatic handgun Foster used. He beat her, ripped the wedding band and engagement ring off her finger, and choked her until her legs and arms stopped failing.
The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Foster then stomped on the woman's back several times before leaving. He was arrested 11 days later in Arizona.
Monday, the victim testified Foster had called her hundreds of times, threatened her, and said when he was beating her that she was going to die and if he couldn't have her, no one could. She suffered migraine headaches for six months after the attack.
Assistant Public Defender Britt Hawkins argued that an emotionally wounded Foster wanted to know why his ex-wife had remarried, and only wanted to inflict physical pain on her.
"He was confused and devastated. He wanted answers," Hawkins said in her closing argument Tuesday. "He was not aware the gun had been discharged until he saw it on the news."
Tegeler disagreed, saying the faulty bullet was the only thing that stopped her from being killed.
"Nobody in their right mind can say that is not an intent to kill," Tegeler said in delivering his verdict. "He took the gun, placed it against her skull, and he pulled the trigger."
Foster has been held at the Kane County jail since his arrest and his bond was revoked after the guilty verdict. He faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced Dec. 23, plus another 20-year add-on because the judge found Foster "personally discharged" the firearm.