Suburban Chicago man charged in killing of longtime girlfriend, new details revealed in court
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. - A suburban Chicago man carried out a prolonged assault that ended in the killing of a woman he had dated for about 10 years after she recently began seeing someone else, prosecutors said.
WARNING: Some may consider the details in this story graphic and disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
The backstory:
Kevin Motykie, 56, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault in the death of 43-year-old Katherine Torbick.
Kevin Motykie
According to court documents, the two had been in a relationship for about a decade and lived together in the 1700 block of Weathersfield Way in northwest suburban Schaumburg, where Torbick also lived with her 12-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Prosecutors said Torbick began dating another man in early April.
On April 30, the man went to Torbick's home after last hearing from her around 8 p.m. the night before and being unable to reach her. He called police after she again did not answer her phone.
Police entered the home around 11 p.m. and found her dead on a couch. Motykie was found alive in the garage and taken into custody, prosecutors said.
Police said Motykie appeared highly intoxicated, had trouble standing and was slurring his speech. He told officers he had taken lorazepam and hydrocodone before being transported to St. Alexius Medical Center for treatment.
Audio captures attack
Police also reportedly recovered a digital recording device from Motykie's pocket. A search warrant later revealed a recording lasting more than seven hours, beginning around 2 a.m. and continuing to about 9:24 a.m.
Prosecutors said the recording captured Motykie handcuffing Torbick, restraining her and repeatedly assaulting her over several hours.
Early in the recording, the two are heard arguing, with Torbick screaming and pleading for him to get off her and to not put handcuffs on her, while Motykie accuses her of cheating.
According to prosecutors, the assault escalated as Motykie continued to beat and control her movements, at times using duct tape to restrain her.
Prosecutors said Motykie also sexually assaulted Torbick during the attack. The recording captures him forcing sexual acts while she repeatedly screams and begs him to stop. At one point, he orders her to perform oral sex and says if she bites him, he will stab her head.
Throughout the recording, Motykie is heard making repeated threats to kill her and tightening his grip around her neck multiple times, according to prosecutors.
Torbick is heard pleading that she wants her son, to which Motykie says he will be better off without her, court documents state.
In the final minutes, prosecutors said the recording captures the fatal attack, with Motykie saying, "I gotta go hang myself" and "this will take 30 seconds, and think of somewhere happy." As he strangles her, he keeps repeating "happy" as Torbick can be heard gasping and struggling.
The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as strangulation and the manner a homicide. Injuries included marks on the neck, bruising and other trauma consistent with prolonged physical assault. The medical examiner also observed fluid in Torbick's private part.
When Motykie was arrested in the garage, officers also recovered handcuffs from his pocket along with a key, and noted a rope tied into a noose hanging from an overhead beam in the garage.
Previous assault
Dig deeper:
Court documents describe an earlier incident in March in which Motykie allegedly attacked Torbick after accusing her of cheating.
Prosecutors said Motykie pushed her onto a bed, climbed on top of her and placed both hands around her neck, squeezing until she was unable to breathe or speak. He then struck her in the face, placed his fingers in her mouth and attempted to gouge her eyes.
Afterward, prosecutors said, Motykie forced her into the garage while holding a knife and blocked her from leaving. He told her she had 20 minutes to write a suicide note to her son, who was asleep in the home at the time.
Torbick began writing the note but was able to push past him and tried to hide. Prosecutors said Motykie grabbed her hair, held a knife to her scalp and struck her in the nose, causing bleeding. He also threatened to kill himself.
She eventually ran from the home to a neighbor’s house for help after Motykie took her phone. A neighbor called 911, and she was taken to a hospital, where injuries including redness on her neck and bruising were documented.
An arrest warrant was issued March 16, but authorities had not located Motykie before the April 30 killing, although audio recovered from the device indicates he resumed living with Torbick as early as March 22, court documents state.
Torbick told officers at the time of the March assault that she believed the violence was escalating and feared he would kill her.
The man had also been the subject of three separate orders of protection in previous years, prosecutors said.
What's next:
Motykie was taken to a hospital after his arrest and later released into police custody.
Prosecutors have asked that he be held in custody as the case moves forward. He is due back in court on May 29 in Rolling Meadows.
The Source: The information in this story came from Cook County court records.