A Ravenswood man disguised himself with a “Rastafarian wig” as he tried to beat his ex-wife to death on a Lakeview street last month, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The woman, age 42, was returning home after walking the couple’s daughter to school when a man wearing “what appeared to be long dreads” attacked her from behind with a pipe-like object on the 500 block of West Hawthorne around 8:30 a.m. on May 14, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said.
“You f*cking b*tch! You f*cking deserve this! I’m going to kill you,” the attacker yelled as she tried to protect herself from the blows while lying on the ground, according to Murphy.
The wig prevented the woman from seeing the attacker’s face, but she recognized his voice as her ex-husband, 47-year-old Paul Woebel, Murphy said. She later reviewed surveillance video of the attacker with her sister, and both women recognized Woebel by his stature and gait, Murphy said.
Police found surveillance video that shows Woebel driving into the area about 30 minutes before the attack and driving it on nearby Roscoe Street after the assault, according to Murphy. Woebel previously told the woman’s family members that he would try to kill her, Murphy said. The couple divorced in 2017 after 12 years of marriage.
Murphy said the victim was hospitalized for six days with intracranial fractures, ligament damage, and extensive bruising to her head, face, and arms.
Investigators who executed a search warrant at Woebel’s home Tuesday found a baton weapon that has been submitted for DNA testing, according to Murphy.
Woebel’s private defense attorney said he is a senior investigator for the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He has no criminal background.
Prosecutors charged Woebel with one count of attempted murder. Judge John Lyke set bail at $50,000. Woebel will need to post $5,000 to get out of jail.