CHICAGO _ A Chicago man pleaded not guilty Monday to felony charges that he deliberately shoved a stranger onto the tracks of a commuter train in downtown Chicago in early August.
Chad Estep, 34, stood silently in a Cook County courtroom as his attorney, Vadim Glozman, entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf during a brief hearing.
Estep, a recent doctoral graduate in neuroscience from Northwestern University, has been charged with one count each of attempted murder and unlawful restraint and two counts of aggravated battery, court records show.
A motive for the attack remained a mystery, but prosecutors have said Estep appeared intoxicated on surveillance videos inside the CTA Blue Line's Washington Street station.
Estep came up behind Ben Benedict, 46, and shoved him onto the tracks with both hands, knocking him perilously close to the electrified third rail, according to prosecutors.
Estep then tried to block Benedict from getting back onto the platform _ and even tried to stop others at the station from assisting Benedict, prosecutors said.
Benedict finally climbed to safety just seconds before a train arrived, prosecutors said, while Estep escaped on foot.
Police did not issue an alert after the attack. Video and a photo of a suspect were not released until the Chicago Tribune approached police about a month later. The surveillance video showed a man jumping the turnstile at the subway station but did not show the attack.
Prosecutors have said police received several anonymous tips on the identity of the suspect after the surveillance photos were publicly released.
At a previous court hearing, Benedict identified Estep as the man he saw moments after he was knocked onto the rails who was trying to prevent him from getting back onto the platform.
Estep is free on $200,000 bond after his wife posted the necessary $20,000 by check hours after his first appearance in court earlier this month.
His next court date is scheduled for December. Proceedings are still in the very early phases, Glozman said.
"We're going to keep investigating until we're able to get the best possible result for Mr. Estep," Glozman told reporters outside the courtroom.
