Woman allegedly attacked, assaulted in Willowbrook home invasion

WILLOWBROOK, Ill. (WLS) -- Police in the western suburbs released vehicle details and a sketch of the suspect Sunday after a 26-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed and sexually assaulted in a home invasion Saturday afternoon.

Willowbrook police say they are working with 15 different suburban communities to find the suspect. They are operating on the assumption that he might still be in the area and are continuing to patrol the entire community.

"We're extremely glad that our victim is in stable condition without any life-threatening injuries," said Chief Mark Shelton, Willowbrook Police Department.

The home invasion and assault occurred around 1 p.m. Saturday on a dead end street surrounded by an industrial park. The victim was at her car in the driveway when a man pulled up and asked for money. She refused and went into the house. The man then got out of the car, walked up to the door, started knocking and asked to make a call so he could get gas money to get back to Indiana.

"She refused, said she was going to call police and at that time he forced his way into a rear door," said Deputy Chief Mark Altobella, Willowbrook Police Department.

The attacker then brutally beat and attacked her.

"She's really beat up," said Paul Schuster, the victim's father. "It was very brutal. Several stab wounds to the face and torso, punches to the face.

The victim was stabbed as many as 16 times, Schuster said. She was also sexually assaulted. She managed to make her way to a neighbor's house, and Sunday was able to give police a detailed description of her attacker, enough to create a composite of an African-American man, 25 to 30 years of age, maybe 180 pounds.

Not only was the victim able to help provide a detailed description of her attacker, she also remembered his car, a dark blue 2006 Nissan Altima with windows, no front license plate, but an Indiana bicentennial plate in the rear.

"He looks just like him, height, weight, his face," neighbor Steven Braucher said of the sketch.

Three days ago Braucher spotted a man matching the description of the suspect standing at the top of the block, leading to the possibility that the attacker may have been casing the area.

"Jaw broken twice, a knife wound piercing the liver," Braucher said of the victim. "They're worried about her neck, but she's talking. She's going to be on the mend, but it's brutal. How do you live through this?"

Police say that they've already received some tips that they are following up on, but insist that it is important for the public to help. Anyone who recognizes the man in the sketch or the vehicle description should contact Willowbrook Police.