The trial of a man accused of randomly attacking a woman as she walked her son’s dog in a McHenry park was set to resume Friday afternoon but has been delayed until March.
Raymond Link, 49, of Wisconsin, is charged with the first-degree attempted murder of a now 61-year-old woman, whom prosecutors say he brutally beat the afternoon of May 5, 2024.
He also is charged with aggravated battery in the attack of the 39-year-old man who was in the park with his family that day and tried to help the woman, who suffered permanent injuries.
Link chose to have his case heard before Judge Tiffany Davis rather than a jury of his peers. On Jan. 29, the first day of trial, Link’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Matthew Feda, told Davis, Link should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
But McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito said Link, who claims he heard orders to kill someone that day, “made a specific choice to attack” the woman. Romito asked that Davis find Link guilty but mentally ill.
The woman, who provided emotional testimony on Jan. 29, needed help walking to the stand. She sobbed as she testified and said that day Link “ruined my life.” Her last memory of the day is sending a voice message to a friend as she walked her son’s dog, who was on a leash, in Petersen Park. She has no memory of waking up in the hospital of a rehabilitation facility, she said.
The woman said she loved that park and it is a place she often walked or ran, sometimes with her husband. On this day she was alone.
The man who tried to save her testified he was in the park with his wife and two young children when he heard screaming. He turned toward the scream and saw Link “leaping and jumping” on the woman’s head. He ran to help her.
Link and Link’s dog, who had been roaming the park without a leash, attacked the man. During his frantic attempts to stop Link from hurting the woman and defending himself, the man called 911.
On the call, played in the courtroom, the man is heard screaming at Link to stop hurting her and Link’s dog is heard barking. The man, who also suffered serious injuries, told the 911 dispatcher: “A man is trying to kill this woman.”
The dog, whom Link allegedly ordered to attack the man, eventually ran off and was later caught and taken into custody of McHenry County Animal Control, authorities said.
The police officer who arrived earlier testified that he pulled Link off of the woman and cuffed him. He said Link was erratic and screaming: “I am the angel of death.” The officer also testified he could barely see the woman’s face with all the blood, and he couldn’t tell if she was alive.
The woman said she’s suffered brain damage, lost an eye and has had therapy to help with her speech and memory. She said she can no longer work at a job she “loved.”
“He ruined my life,” she said, sobbing. “He tried to kill me and he beat me up so bad.”
Should the judge find Link not guilty by reason of insanity, he would be confined to a mental institution. If found guilty but mentally ill, he would go to a prison, where he could receive treatment for his mental health.