She Shot Her Husband During Chicago Bears Game: Joliet Woman's Case Finally Nearing Its End?
JOLIET, IL — It's been over five years since Joliet resident Denise O'Malley, then 55 years old, was charged by Joliet police with the attempted murder of her husband, shooting him in the chest as he celebrated a Chicago Bears come from behind victory on the TV of their living room on Brighton Lane, according to testimony.
The attempted murder defendant worked as a registered nurse at Edward Hospital in Naperville when she was jailed under the old cash bail system. After spending 2 1/2 months in the Will County Jail facing a $750,000 bail, her criminal defense lawyer,
And for nearly five years, Denise O'Malley has moved on with her life, as her Joliet attempted murder case has moved at a snail's pace at the Will County Courthouse. For some of Joliet's criminal defendants, this is not uncommon. Former District 86 teacher Michael Kazecki, charged with the first-degree murder of his wife, Becky, inside their home in early August 2018, has remained free under the old cash bail system for more than seven years without going to trial.
House On Brighton Lane Being Sold As Part Of O'Malleys' Divorce Proceedings
Now, after being on the Will County court docket for more than five years, Denise O'Malley's attempted murder case may reach a resolution in less than three weeks, Joliet Patch has learned.
O'Malley's case is set for a plea bargain on Dec. 1 in Courtroom 502 of Will County Judge Jessica Colon-Sayre.
Besides attempted murder, O'Malley is charged with aggravated battery involving a gun, aggravated discharge of a gun and aggravated domestic battery.
As a condition of her 2020 bond, Denise O'Malley was ordered to have no contact with her husband, John O'Malley, or their home in the 1900 block of Brighton Lane, a Plainfield mailing address. Less than a month ago, on Oct. 16, Will County Judge Joan Meyers issued an order, allowing Denise O'Malley to retrieve her belongings from their home "due to the pending divorce between her and the complaining witness, John O'Malley," court files show.
The judge announced that Denise O'Malley must cooperate with Baird & Warner to execute a listing of the home while John O'Malley handled the showings, photos, stagings and open houses "to effectuate the sale of the residence." Tomczak Law Group filed a motion to modifying their client's electronic monitoring so Denise O'Malley can obtain her belongings from the home on Brighton Lane when John O'Malley was not present.
According to 2020 courtroom testimony, John O'Malley was inside their house that Sept. 13 watching the Chicago Bears game against the Detroit Lions when his wife appeared near the living room, hiding her hands behind her back. Then, Denise O'Malley pointed a gun at her husband of more than 30 years and fired, the Joliet shooting victim testified.
Denise O'Malley Believed Her Marriage Was On The Decline: Prosecutors
A retired Cook County Sheriff's Office deputy, John O'Malley told Will County Circuit Court Judge Dave Carlson he was shot in his left thigh and upper chest.
Bleeding profusely, John O'Malley ran outside his house and collapsed. Neighbors called 911.
After being hospitalized in critical condition, John O'Malley made a remarkable recovery.
According to Will County prosecutors, Denise O'Malley indicated that her husband "threatened to kill her (even though) there's no evidence to that." Additionally, "the defendant advised she believed her husband was having an affair and her marriage was on the decline," Will County prosecutor Tom Slazyk remarked.
In 2020, Slazyk told the judge that Denise O'Malley "did admit firing the firearm at her husband" and the shooting happened during a breakdown; she was not prescribed any medications at the time of the Sept. 13 shooting, according to the lawyers.
Back in February 2020, on the verge of the coronavirus pandemic, Denise O'Malley's family began to suspect she was suffering from serious mental illness, Tomczak told Judge Carlson. Tomczak said the family brought her to Linden Oaks and she was diagnosed with psychosis, anxiety disorder and schizophrenia.
She returned to her house in Joliet, and according to Tomczak, her psychiatric problems grew worse over the next several months, culminating with her delusional behavior toward her husband, leading to the shooting.
"They may not have given the care she needed," Tomczak remarked in court in 2020, referring to Linden Oaks.
During one of the 2020 court hearings, Tomczak called John O'Malley to testify. The shooting victim told the judge he and Denise had been married 34 years, they had one grown son and one grown daughter and he spent 32 years on the Cook County Sheriff's Office before retiring a few years ago.
"You were shot two times?" Tomczak asked his witness.
"Yes, sir," responded the silver-haired man wearing a dark navy suit.
Recalling his September 2020 shooting, John O'Malley testified "it was mental illness. It was not Denise that did the offense. It was not my wife; no other reasons for what happened."
John O'Malley was shot with a .357 revolver, and the Joliet Police Department later recovered the gun from Denise O'Malley's kitchen table, according to the 2020 testimony.
According to court files, Denise O'Malley has moved to Crest Hill, where she remains on electronic monitoring. She turns 61 years old in December.
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