Carpentersville Woman Accused of Stabbing Sister Had History of Mental Illness

Bail has been set at $1 million for a 53-year-old Carpentersville woman accused of stabbing her older sister to death, police said Wednesday.

Sandra Baumgartner, of the 100 block of South Lincoln Avenue in Carpentersville, was charged Wednesday with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the death of her sister, Sharon Baumgartner, 57, of Carpentersville. Sandra Baumgartner has a history of mental illness and was found not guilty by reason of insanity in April 2001 for the murder of a Tennessee man police said she stabbed over 120 times, the Daily Herald reports.

She is now accused of stabbing her sister multiple times around 9:45 p.m. Monday in her apartment in the 100 block of South Lincoln Avenue, according to a Carpentersville Police Department press release.

Two neighbors called police after hearing a disturbance in Sharon’s apartment. When police arrived, they found Sharon Baumgartner bleeding badly. She died a short time later.

Police said Sandra Baumgartner had fled the scene of the stabbing. The sisters lived in separate apartments in the same building.

Sandra Baumgartner has a history of schizo-affective disorder, bipolar type and her attorney said she could not understand the wrongfulness of her actions when she stabbed Danie Morgan, of Memphis, Tenn., 120 times during a fight in his apartment, the Daily Herald reports.

Sandra Baumgartner was still receiving intensive outpatient treatment in April 2013, according to the Daily Herald.

In April 2003, a Tennessee judge modified a condition to her mandatory outpatient treatment that required Sandra live with her parents, the Elgin Courier-News reports. Her mom died at the age of 78 in 2010 and her father, 87, is in a nursing home.

Sandra Baumgartner appeared Thursday morning for a bond hearing at the Kane County Judicial Center where the $1 million bail was set. She remains in custody at the Kane County jail and could face between 20 and 60 years in prison if convicted.