A suburban Chicago woman has been charged in a horrific knife attack against two young children she was babysitting, which left them covered in blood, police said.
Jennifer Kouchoukos, 51, is accused of repeatedly stabbing the girls, who were ages 1 and 4, on Nov. 17 in their Lisle, Illinois, home, the DuPage County State Attorney’s Office.
Police in Lisle, Illinois, responded about 5:15 p.m. to a call about a suicide attempt at a home on Matson Lane, where they found a grisly crime scene, officials said.
“Upon their arrival, officers observed one of the children sitting in a bathroom covered in blood and the other child sitting nearby on the kitchen floor, also covered in blood,” the DuPage County State Attorney’s Office said in a statement about the girls, ages 1 and 4.
Their babysitter, Kouchoukos, was found “wearing blood-soaked clothing near the vanity in the same bathroom as the first child.”
The two victims were rushed to a local hospital with multiple stab wounds on their chests and backs, officials said. They were later transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago.
“Kouchoukos, who was unresponsive to any questions or commands, was taken to a local hospital for medical attention,” the statement says.
“When processing the scene, authorities located multiple knives stained with what appeared to be blood, an empty bottle of wine and a nearly empty bottle of rum,” it states.
Kouchoukos was released from the hospital on Tuesday and transported to the DuPage County Jail, where she faces several felonies.
She was charged with two counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery to a child under 13 and two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
During her first court appearance, Judge Joshua Dieden granted the state’s motion to deny pretrial release to Kouchoukos, who is being held without bail pending her arraignment on Jan. 12.
Prosecutors also filed a motion for a psychiatric evaluation for the Naperville woman.
“This is an extremely disturbing case for all those involved,” State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said in a statement. “We are all very grateful that the injuries sustained by the young girls in this case were not life threatening and that they both appear to be on the road to recovery.
“I commend Lisle Police Department for their efforts on this very upsetting case,” he added.
Lisle Chief of Police Kevin Licko praised his officers for their response at the bloody crime scene.
“Once they knew there were injured children inside, the officers rushed into the house without hesitation. I commend them for executing their job skillfully and professionally,” the top cop said in a statement.
