Charges dropped against former couple accused of attacking Round Lake Beach man in Ingleside
Prosecutors have dropped charges against two people who had been accused of beating and stabbing a man during a fight in Ingleside last December.
Kylie R. Fecht initially was charged with attempted murder, felony aggravated battery, felony mob action and misdemeanor domestic battery. She was held in jail on $750,000 bail. The attempted murder charge was dropped in January.
Ex-husband Ryan B. Fecht initially was charged with felony aggravated battery and felony mob action and was held on $250,000 bail.
The charges stemmed from a fight outside an Ingleside home on the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue with a Round Lake Beach man who had been in a relationship with Kylie Fecht, according to officials.
Police initially said the man went to Kylie Fecht's home to pick up possessions he had left there and was attacked by Ryan Fecht and Kylie Fecht, who was accused of stabbing him with a kitchen knife.
The Lake County state's attorney's office dropped all charges last week.
Spokeswoman Sara Avalos said the Round Lake Beach man stopped working with prosecutors so officials decided the case could not go forward. Avalos said there was no reason to believe the man stopped cooperating as a result of pressure or manipulation.
Defense attorneys for Kylie and Ryan Fecht said Wednesday the charges were dropped because the Round Lake Beach man came forward and admitted he had started the fight.
Jed Stone, Kylie Fecht's defense attorney, said the man said in a sworn statement he had called Kylie Fecht on the day of the fight to try to reconcile. While they were on the phone, the man heard Ryan Fecht's voice in the background, became irate and told Kylie Fecht he was going to come over and hurt her, Stone said.
Stone said that during the fight the man body-slammed Ryan Fecht in the parking lot outside the apartment and began kicking him. Stone said Kylie Fecht saw the fight, grabbed a kitchen knife and began screaming at the man to stop attacking Ryan Fecht. When the man wouldn't stop, she stabbed him twice, Stone said.