COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Hyde Park man fatally stabbed his wife in her head and neck during a heated argument Monday, prosecutors said.
Rickie Ford, 39, is charged with first-degree murder and and was ordered Wednesday held in lieu of $2 million bail.
According to prosecutors, a security guard found Ford's wife bleeding from neck outside the couple's apartment Monday night. The 33-year-old victim, whose name is being withheld pending family notification, was able to identify Ford as her attacker before dying.
The couple had gotten into a fight inside their apartment in the 5000 block of South East End Avenue on Monday, Assistant State's Attorney Becky Walters said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
The victim had previously kicked Ford out of their home, which they share with the victim's three daughters, ages 8, 11 and 17, prosecutors said. But Ford was living with his wife again Monday.
As the fight escalated, the victim asked her 11-year-old daughter to run and get building security, Walters said.
Ford continued to argue with the victim, who was busy assisting her 17-year-old daughter, who is disabled, according to prosecutors. The pair left the room and continued to fight — until everything went silent, a witness said.
A building security guard found the victim bleeding outside her apartment shortly thereafter, prosecutors noted.
The woman was rushed to the hospital with nine stab wounds to her head and neck, authorities said. She died following emergency surgery — but not before identifying her husband as the attacker, according to Walters.
Police found Ford inside the apartment with a laceration on his wrist.
Officers recovered three knives that appeared to have blood on them inside the home, Walters said.
According to prosecutors, Ford was previously convicted of domestic battery. He now faces first-degree murder charges. Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Wednesday set bail at $2 million.
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