On Again, Off Again Boyfriend Battered, Choked Girlfriend: Prosecutor

OAK LAWN, IL -- An angry boyfriend was arrested after he punched and choked an Oak Lawn woman after she confronted him about cheating, prosecutors said in court.

Steven Brodnick, 36, of Bridgeview, appeared before Cook County Judge Donald Havis on charges of aggravated domestic battery. The prosecutors said Brodnick and the woman have been dating on and off for the past three years.

According to the charges, the girlfriend got off from work and went home, when Brodnick called her and said he needed a ride home from a bar because he had been drinking. The girlfriend picked Brodnick up and drove him to his residence.

After spending some time together, the girlfriend went home. During the early morning hours of March 26, a friend called the woman to tell her she saw allegedly saw Brodnick at the bar with another woman.

The girlfriend went over to Brodnick’s house and let herself in. After seeing the other woman’s number on his cell phone, the prosecutor said she threw his phone down.

Brodnick allegedly grabbed the woman by the hair and threw her to the floor. The prosecutor said he dragged her to the bed, where he repeatedly punched her.

The woman alleged that Brodnick grabbed her neck with both hands and choked her until she couldn’t breathe, then tried to smother her with a pillow.

The prosecutor said Brodnick smashed a glass object on the woman’s head. She was treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center where she received three staples in her head. The woman also had bruises on her face and buttocks, as well as redness on her neck.

Brodnick was charged with domestic battery in 2016 with the same woman, according to court records.

Brodnick’s attorney said his client “vigorously denies the allegations.”

“He has bruises on his arms from defending himself,” the attorney said. “The [2016] charges were dropped.”

The attorney said that Brodnick “wanted to be heard” on his girlfriend’s request for a criminal order of protection.

Judge Havis set bail at $250,000. The prosecutor also asked for a GPS tracking device should he bond out, and to have no contact with his girlfriend while the case is pending.

Brodnick’s next court date is April 20 in Bridgeview.