COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Humboldt Park teen is accused of beating her schoolmate so badly that the victim can no longer speak in sentences or tie her own shoes.
Prosecutors claim Estrella Martinez, 18, punched a 16-year-old girl in the head multiple times on Jan. 12 because she thought the schoolmate had been talking about her behind her back.
The victim, who lives in Logan Square, suffered a "mild traumatic brain injury," according to an arrest report.
She experienced speech and memory loss, as well as issues with her speech, cognitive and motor skills, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Tuesday. The girl can no longer form full sentences or tie her shoes, Antonietti added.
Antonietti said the girls knew each other from West Town Academy, 534 N. Sacramento Blvd.
Martinez was originally charged with misdemeanor battery following the Jan. 12 attack. But prosecutors this week upgraded charges to felony aggravated battery once they learned the extent of the victim's injuries, Antonietti said.
The attack happened about 3:40 p.m. on Jan. 12 when Martinez began punching the victim in her face and head in the 1700 block of North Kildare Avenue — a few miles from school — according to police and prosecutors.
The victim was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital before being transferred to Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital for speech, occupational, psychiatric and physical therapy, the arrest report said.
Martinez, of the 3400 block of West Pierce Avenue, was arrested Monday on school grounds, court records show. Her public defender in court Tuesday said Martinez lives with her foster mother.
Martinez was charged with aggravated battery on the public way and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm.
"That is a shame," Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois said before setting bail at $250,000.
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