Wife Dies, Husband Jailed: Joliet Police

JOLIET, IL - A 38-year-old Joliet man, Michael Kazecki, who lives in the 700 block of McDonough Street was arrested by Joliet's Police Department Tuesday night in connection with the suspected violent beating of his wife. The 38-year-old woman, Rebecca Kazecki, died on Tuesday at Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center, the Will County Coroner's Office announced.

She died "under suspicious circumstances" the coroner's office said, and an autopsy will take place today, Wednesday August 8. Joliet Public School District 86 confirmed to Patch that the husband and wife both worked as teachers in the school district, Michael Kazecki at Washington Junior High School and Rebecca Kazecki at Gompers Junior High.

Jail logs indicate that Michael Kazecki was booked into the county jail around 8:25 p.m. on two serious felony charges: aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, aggravated domestic battery and one misdemeanor domestic battery charge.

Kazecki is slated to go before a Will County Judge on Wednesday afternoon to have his bail set. Joliet Patch intends to be at the courthouse to cover today's proceedings..

On Tuesday, Joliet Patch was the first news outlet to report that the man's 38-year-old wife was fighting for her life after being rushed to Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center late Monday afternoon. Joliet's deputy chief of criminal investigations Al Roechner told Joliet Patch that the woman was found unresponsive on the floor of her house around 4:20 p.m. on Monday, August 6.

Her husband portrayed it as an "alcohol-related" incident, he said.

Authorities later determined the woman's injuries appeared to be consistent with injuries suffered in a domestic violence incident, Roechner said.

On Tuesday, Joliet Police investigators were busy interviewing the woman's husband. (Did you know that you can get Joliet news delivered straight to your inbox for free? Sign up for our free daily newsletter and our breaking news alerts at Joliet Patch.)

Before the woman died, Roechner told Patch that police were carefully monitoring the wife's medical condition at the hospital and the investigation was still continuing.

Today, authorities are expected to confer with representatives of the Will County Coroner's Office involved in today's autopsy on Rebecca Kazecki.

It's possible that formal charges will be upgraded to murder, depending on the autopsy findings.

Meanwhile, a number of readers on social media commented about the tragedy. One woman wrote, "He was my son's teacher at Washington ... You never know about people, he seemed like a fairly decent guy, prayers for his wife."

Staff at the Groundwork Domestic Violence Program at Guardian Angel Community Services in Joliet reached out to Joliet Patch on Wednesday, urging anyone dealing with domestic violence to call their 24-hour confidential hotline at 815-729-1228.

Mugshot of Michael Kazecki via Will County Sheriff