Sept. 02--A South Bend, Ind., man has been charged in the weekend attack of a woman in Willowbrook, DuPage County officials announced Wednesday.
Londale Madison, 31, has been charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, one count of home invasion and one count of armed robbery, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office.
Bail was set at $5 million.
Madison is being held in the St. Joseph County, Ind., jail awaiting extradition to DuPage County. He was taken into custody Tuesday in Indiana. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 120 years in prison.
The victim, in her 20s, was loading her car in a driveway in the 700 block of 73rd Court around 1:10 p.m. Saturday when a dark blue Nissan Altima pulled up and a man approached and asked for money, Willowbrook police said.
She refused and went into the home, but the man knocked on a side door and asked to use her phone. He forced his way inside and stabbed her several times and sexually assaulted her, according to police and family.
The Tribune is not naming the woman or her family because of the nature of the crime.
The victim fought back "as hard as she could," her sister said. "The doctors were amazed that all these knife wounds missed major arteries and organs."
After the attacker left, the woman ran to a neighbor's house, where police were called. The suspect fled in the Altima, which had tinted windows and a "wind reflector" where the sunroof is, police said.
The woman told police the car had a bicentennial Indiana license plate. A car matching the description was towed early Monday from a street in Brookfield.
A person fitting the suspect's description had been in the area earlier in the week, and police have been re-interviewing neighbors. Police took sketches to residents in the area and a nearby strip mall, police Chief Mark Shelton said.
"They were going door to door telling everyone to lock up and be safe," the victim's sister said.
An investigation led by the Willowbrook Police Department and the DuPage County Felony Investigative Assistance Team led to Madison, who was apprehended in Indiana without incident.
Before Tuesday's arrest, neighbors remained shaken.
"I was outside the other day, and I thought maybe I was unsafe," said Matt Szilagyi, whose family lives about a block away from the scene of the attack, a quiet residential street.
Neighbors on the victim's block barricaded the street with garbage cans Tuesday to prevent visits from media and gawkers. One woman, who did not identify herself, said neighbors made a pact not to speak with any more reporters out of respect for the family.
A GoFundMe page, set up by the sister to help cover medical expenses and lost wages while the woman recovers, had raised more than $35,540 by Tuesday afternoon, mostly in donations of $25 to $100 from about 540 people.
"This type of brazen, violent, unprovoked physical and sexual attack, as alleged in this case, is extremely disturbing and will be met with the full force of the law," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said.
"I am extremely grateful to all agencies involved for their tireless perseverance in the apprehension and charges brought against Mr. Madison," Chief Shelton said. "We are all so very thankful our victim will be recovering. The bravery exhibited and information provided by our victim were exceptional. Knowing Mr. Madison is in law enforcement custody is a relief to all citizens."
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Vikki Ortiz Healy and Rosemary Regina Sobol are Chicago Tribune reporters. Kimberly Fornek is a Pioneer Press reporter.
