COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Archer Heights man told police that "he lost it and killed his mother" Wednesday before attacking his brother with a car and hammer, prosecutors said.
Police found 54-year-old Maria Sadelski bludgeoned to death in her basement in the 4800 block of South Karlov Avenue shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Son Wojciech Sadelski admitted to the crime, telling police that "he lost it and killed his mother," and it was a good thing the woman was dead, Assistant State's Attorney Akash Vyas said during a bond hearing Friday.
It's unclear what prompted the attack.
According to prosecutors, the first sign that something was wrong happened earlier in the evening when Wojciech Sadelski's 30-year-old brother came home from work to find the house dark.
Sadelski attacked the brother with a hammer, Vyas said. After a brief struggle, the brother escaped to a neighbor's house, where he called 911. As the brother walked back home to check on his mother, Vyas said, he spotted Wojciech Sadelski driving their mother's car.
Sadelski drove onto the sidewalk, trying to hit his brother, before eventually crashing into a nearby garage, prosecutors said. Wojciech Sadelski then jumped out of the car and attacked his brother with a hammer in front of several witnesses, Vyas said.
When police arrived, they took the hammer and went into the family's home to check on Maria Sadelski, according to prosecutors. The woman was lying dead in the basement with "massive blunt force trauma to her head and body," Vyas said.
The brother, police said, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious condition, with cuts on his head.
Wojciech Sadelski was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. According to prosecutors, he doesn't have a prior criminal history.
Cook County Judge James Brown on Friday called Sadelski "a danger to himself and the community" and ordered the Poland native held without bail.
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