CHICAGO — A Jefferson Park woman accused of randomly attacking victims with a baseball bat and trying to run one of them over with her car was found not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday. Denise Solorzano, 28, remains on electronic monitoring. She will be back in court next month as officials work to determine what treatment, if any, she needs going forward.
On an afternoon in May 2023, Solorzano pulled up next to a 33-year-old woman in the 4200 block of North Richmond and began yelling at her about “beating her ass,” prosecutors claimed.
Solorzano allegedly got out of the car and punched the woman several times in the head and face until the woman fell to the ground. She grabbed the woman by her hair and dragged her down the street, but she fled when a witness intervened, prosecutors said. The victim suffered swelling, bruises, and cuts.
Next, Solorzano approached a 19-year-old woman in the 4000 block of West Lawrence about an hour later.
“What would you do if I punched you in the face?” she allegedly asked the woman before grabbing her by the hair, slugging her in the head and face three times, and pushing her to the ground.
Solorzano stood over the woman and punched her a few more times until a witness tried to stop her, according to prosecutors. Solorzano allegedly pulled the witness by her hair, tearing out a chunk as she fell to the ground. Officials said the woman covered her face as Solorzano tried to punch her in the face and slam her head against the sidewalk.
Chicago police officers arrived as the attack was underway. They briefly chased Solorzano’s car but terminated their efforts after she ran a stop sign.
The attacks resumed the next day, but this time Solorzano armed herself with a baseball bat.
“What would you do if I beat you with this bat?” Solorzano allegedly asked a woman standing with her sister and a 6-month-old baby in a stroller on the 4500 block of North Mozart around 11:27 a.m.
She stepped out of the car and attacked both women, hitting them in their hands and arms as they tried to protect themselves, according to prosecutors. A neighbor recorded part of the attack on video. Those victims, ages 27 and 31, experienced bruising and swelling.
While police were talking with the victims, a 34-year-old woman reported that a white sedan lurched toward her as she crossed the street with her dog near the 3000 block of West Cullom. A short time later, she passed Solorzano, who was standing on the sidewalk with a bat.
“What would happen if I bashed you with this bat?” Solorzano allegedly asked. She struck the woman on the back, shoulder, and arms as she tried to get past her. Solorzano fled in her car when a witness approached.
Police soon learned of another attack in the 3000 block of West Belle Plaine.
A woman claimed that a white car almost hit her as she crossed an intersection before the driver lurched and reversed toward her about four times, forcing her to jump out of the way. Officials said Solorzano yelled about the woman’s ethnicity as the victim ran to another woman who was walking a dog nearby.
Solorzano pulled her car into a nearby alley and threatened the women with her bat, striking one on the arm and head, according to the allegations. Both women ran away but noticed a pink bumper sticker shaped like a crown on the back of Solorzano’s car.
Chicago police later traced the car’s license plate to Solorzano’s parents and found it parked in front of the family’s home on the 4900 block of West Lawrence with a pink, crown-shaped bumper sticker. Her parents told authorities that the car belonged to Solorzano, according to prosecutors.
Officers arrested Solorzano. When a family member brought the car to the police, the bumper sticker was missing, prosecutors claimed, but a crown-shaped outline was still visible on the vehicle. Cops recovered a short black and yellow baseball bat from inside the car.
From the start, Solorzano’s attorneys have said she had significant mental health issues. She had never been arrested before.
A grand jury returned true bills charging her with 28 counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle. Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer found her not guilty on all charges by reason of insanity on Wednesday. Sutker-Dermer ordered all parties to return to court on April 8 to determine next steps.
