Crestwood Man Beats, Bites, Chokes Girlfriend: Police

CRESTWOOD, IL -- Crestwood police discovered a bloody and beaten woman hiding behind a door during a well-being check on Nov. 11. The woman’s boyfriend, Jonathan Gonzalez, 25, appeared before Judge Peter Felice on a Class X felony charge of attempted first-degree murder. Gonzalez was also charged with aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery against a pregnant and/or disabled person. The woman is six weeks pregnant.

According to the charges the woman and Gonzalez had been dating for two years. She has three children from another relationship. On Nov. 10, in the 14200 block of South Kostner Ave., Gonzalez and his girlfriend reportedly got into a verbal argument. He warned her not to push him and then grabbed her hair, forcing her to the floor, the prosecutor said.

Gonzalez allegedly got on top of the woman and began choking her. The woman began to black out and thought she was going to do die, so she stopped fighting him. She lost consciousness and woke up to Gonzalez punching her, the prosecutor said. When she reminded Gonzalez that she was pregnant, he purportedly told her that if anything happened it would be her fault. Gonzalez left the residence, allegedly warning his girlfriend that she better not call the police on him. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Alsip-Crestwood)

The next morning, Gonzalez came home and tried to talk to the woman. When she refused to talk to him, Gonzalez allegedly began to punch her in the face, chest, stomach, and legs. Police said Gonzalez grabbed the back of her hair and pushed her face into the bedroom floor. She texted the babysitter to come pick up the two older children, but did not go down with them. The prosecutor said that her 7-year-old son told the sitter that his mother had a “bump on the head.”

Later in the day the woman’s sister arrived at the house. The woman texted her sister that she wasn’t home, but her sister saw the woman’s car parked in front of the house. The sister saw movement in the house and texted a friend to call police.

Crestwood police arrived at the home around 8:50 p.m. Nov. 11. Gonzalez answered the door and allegedly told the sister and police that the woman was not home. The sister saw the woman hiding behind a door bloody, beaten and covered in bite marks, the prosecutor said.

Police said that when they spoke to the woman’s older children, her 10-year-old daughter told officers she came downstairs when she heard her mother calling her name, and saw Gonzalez covering her mother’s mouth with his hand. Both children said their mother was covered with bruises.

The woman was brought to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Police said the woman had numerous bite marks and was covered with bruises, including a black eye. The woman also had trouble swallowing after being choked, the prosecutor said.

Gonzalez has no prior criminal background. The assistant public defender told the judge that Gonzalez worked as a forklift operator and had a diploma from Thornton Township High School.

The prosecutor asked for an order of protection for Gonzalez to stay away from the woman, her children and her family

“I find him to be a danger to the victim, her children and unborn child,” Felice said. “No bail.”

If convicted of the charges, Gonzalez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections to be served consecutively. Gonzalez’s next court date is Dec. 10 in Bridgeview.