Husband Strangles Wife, Threatens Friend With Knife: Cops

TINLEY PARK, IL -- An Orland Park man is accused of strangling his estranged wife and threatening her friend with a knife during an argument. Marcus Taylor, 33, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a felony charge of aggravated domestic battery with strangulation. He was also charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Tinley Park police went to a home in the 10500 block of West 154th Place on March 24. The prosecutor said Taylor’s estranged wife and a friend were home with the kids. Taylor and his wife were together 13 years and filed for divorce last April. The wife and friend were in the kitchen when they heard a knock on the door. Taylor let himself in and said he was there to see their children.

When the friend came out to introduce himself, the prosecutor said Taylor grabbed a knife and threatened him with it. After the friend left, Taylor allegedly confronted his wife and put his hands around her neck and began squeezing in front of the couple’s children. The woman told police she began to lose her vision and couldn’t breathe. She scratched Taylor’s face and he let her go, the prosecutor said.

Taylor left and the woman called a friend to tell her what happened, the prosecutor said He was arrested on March 27. Police said the woman had red marks on her neck.

Taylor’s attorney said his client was a self-employed contractor. He claimed that Taylor was beaten and had a black eye “by two people at the house.”

“It’s his apartment. He’s on the lease. They’re off and on,” the attorney said.

The prosecutor said that Taylor has a pending felony identity theft case. He’s also served time in the Illinois Department of Corrections for possession of a controlled substance.

“There’s some serious violence there,” Felice said. “He’s flagged for violence. That’s troubling to this court, strangling someone to the point of passing out, assuming your innocent of course.”

“My client was punched in the face,” the attorney said.

Bail was set at $100,000. Taylor was ordered to have no contact with the woman while the case was pending. The judge also ordered electronic home monitoring should Taylor bond out. Taylor’s next court date is April 24 in Bridgeview.