Mental Health Evaluation Ordered for Arlington Heights Man Accused of Killing Wife With Hatchet

A special mental evaluation has been ordered for an Arlington Heights man accused of murdering his wife with a hatchet in November 2014 in Wisconsin, according to media reports.

Loga-Negru is charged with felony counts of first-degree intentional homicide, mayhem and kidnapping in connection with death of Roxana Abrudan, 36. If convicted, Loga-Negru could be sentenced to life in prison plus 85 years.

»RELATED: Arlington Heights Man Jailed After Wife Killed With Hatchet

Roxana Abrudan, 36, was in hiding after just a few months of marriage to Loga-Negru. Abrudan obtained an order of protection and fled their Arlington Heights home. She was hiding at the Mount Pleasant, Wis., home of a friend. The Chicago Tribune reports that Loga-Negru began abusing his wife immediately after they wed on July 14.

Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete said Loga-Negru tracked her down in Mount Pleasant and used a hatchet “to inflict the maximum amount of pain, terror and mutilation.”

Abrudan sustained “multiple chop wounds and blunt force injuries” to her face, skull and hands, as well as cuts and bruises on her legs, according to autopsy results reported by the Racine County Eye. One hand was split down the middle.

Chiapete asked that bail be denied because Loga-Negru could flee the country — his passport was found among his belongings at the Super 8 motel where he was arrested — and could be a threat to those who tried to help his wife. Loga-Negru has dual U.S. and Romanian citizenship.

» RELATED: Slain Wife Went into Hiding and Lived in Fear

The scene that greeted police as they rolled up to a Super 8 Motel where Abrudan was arrested was bloody and gruesome. They saw Loga-Negru covered in blood and standing over Abrudan, who was in the back seat of his car. Police said Loga-Negru asked officers to shoot him and expressed disappointment that Wisconsin no longer had the death penalty.

Loga-Negru’s father, Marius, had flown in from Romania and was at the motel. He told police that Loga-Negru had left the motel for about an hour. Upon his return, he announced, “I killed Roxana.” His father ran to the motel office and asked a manager to call police.

According to the criminal complaint, Abrudan was still breathing when the police found her. A Flight for Life helicopter took her to the hospital. Loga-Negru had a gash wound to his knee, apparently one he inflicted on himself when he swung the hatchet at his wife and missed.

“This case is as brutal as I think we will ever see,” Chiapete said.

When police searched the car and motel room, they found passports, Romanian ID cards, binoculars, gloves and a black stocking cap, according to authorities, as well as the order of protection papers. They also found papers that indicate Loga-Negru tried to buy a handgun in Caledonia, Wis.

Arlington Heights police said they were called several times to the couple’s home. Neighbors said they knew their relationship was a turbulent, troubled one. The Daily Herald, citing court documents, reports that Loga-Negru head-butted his wife several time, causing nosebleeds, kicked and beat her. The court documents state that he threatened to “put a bullet in her head” and “hire a guy to kill her.” On Oct. 29, she went into hiding.

After Abrudan left her husband, he went to her place of work and tried to get someone to tell him where she’d gone. She was a loan processor at a mortgage company and a freelance interior designer, according to the Daily Herald.

“Loga-Negru went as far as attempts to bribe the cleaning crew at the company in an attempt to gain access to the business to speak to employees to determine Abrudan’s whereabouts,” states the criminal complaint.

Dennis Robaugh contributed to this article.

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