Woman Covered In Blood Shows Up At Police Station After Being Stabbed By Neighbor: Park Forest Police

PARK FOREST, IL — A 34-year-old Park Forest woman was arrested Sept. 26 after allegedly stabbing a neighbor multiple times during an ongoing dispute, police said Monday. The attacker told police she couldn't remember how many times she had stabbed the woman, prosecutors said in a petition to deny pretrial release.

At 5:16 p.m. on Sept. 26, officers were summoned to the lobby of the Park Forest Police Department for a 39-year-old woman who had arrived covered in blood.

Police say officers learned that the woman was the victim of a stabbing that happened at an apartment complex on Sycamore Drive in Park Forest. Officers gave the woman medical aid until paramedics arrived and brought her to a local hospital. Officers later learned that the incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between neighbors, police said.

Police responded to the location of the stabbing, where a 34-year-old Park Forest woman was immediately taken into custody. A significant police presence remained at the scene for several hours as detectives obtained search warrants and processed the crime scene.

Park Forest police did not publicly name the suspect, but jail records identify her as Lashawntate Macon, who was charged with aggravated battery. Officials say additional charges are anticipated following presentation of the case to a grand jury.

In the petition to deny pretrial release, the Will County State's Attorney said that the victim had been stabbed multiple times, including in the face, arm, abdomen and back of her head. When she arrived at the police department, prosecutors say she named her assailant, pointing police to Macon.

Police at the scene encountered Macon, whose "pants and shoes were covered in a red blood-like staining and her jewelry contained heavy amounts of red-blood-like substances," according to the petition. In an interview with detectives after being read her rights, prosecutors said Macon claimed the victim had approached her and that she had pulled a knife to protect herself. The victim was unarmed, Macon told police, but said she had pulled Macon's hair and knocked her glasses off her face, according to court documents.

Police noted a small laceration on Macon's head and asked if she had any other injuries.

"No I have really high adrenaline when something...when I get really angry like," prosecutors say Macon told police, adding she could not recall how many times she'd stabbed the victim. Macon claimed no one had broken up the altercation and that the two women had mutually stopped fighting.

Video footage of the incident, though, contradicted Macon's account, according to the petition.

The video shows the women standing outside their vehicles several feet apart, with some yelling and gesturing. According to prosecutors, Macon is then seen walking quickly toward the victim before the physical altercation begins. A woman stepped out of Macon's car but did not attempt to interfere in the altercation, the court document notes.

Macon's girlfriend then exits the nearby apartments and intervenes, pulling Macon off the victim, according to prosecutors.

Macon's sister told police she witnessed the incident but did not intervene because she feared being bitten by the victim's dog that was running loose or getting blood on herself, officials said.

At Macon's first court appearance, a Will County judge ordered that she remain in custody pending further court proceedings.

Due to the severity of her injuries, the victim was flown to a Chicagoland trauma center, where she underwent emergency surgery. She suffered severe blood loss, underwent a transfusion and was intubated.

She is currently recovering, police said.