The Sconi

Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley thanked those involved in apprehending an Oak Creek man who attacked an elderly couple and expressed his sympathy for the victims. The attacker had been sentenced to jail the previous day for a domestic violence incident, but was given two days to report by Judge Jennifer Dorow, who is running for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Instead of reporting to jail, the man drove to Illinois and attacked the parents of his soon-to-be ex-wife.

According to TMJ4 News, 36-year-old Michael Liu of Oak Creek was sentenced to serve four months in jail on Nov. 30 for a domestic violence incident that took place over the summer. Dorow allowed Liu two days to report to jail. Rather than reporting to jail on Dec. 2, Liu traveled to Crete, Illinois, where the parents of his estranged wife live. Liu fired shots into the couple's home, broke in and stabbed a 66-year-old woman. Her 68-year-old husband intervened, and Liu stabbed him as well. The man was able to defend his wife and stabbed Liu more than a dozen times. The three parties are expected to survive.

Kelley said that Liu and his in-laws were in critical condition when first responders arrived at the scene. “If it were not for the quick action taken by the deputies on scene, three lives may have been lost that day. Deputies Harris and Swanson, who are in their first year in law enforcement, did an outstanding job at controlling the scene and providing the injured individuals lifesaving aid," Kelley said in a Dec. 6 Facebook post.

“My heart goes out to the victims in this senseless heinous attack. It was clear what the offender’s intentions were, the minute he left the state of Wisconsin," Kelley said. "I want to thank the Will County Sheriff’s Office personnel that responded to the scene, the deputies that assisted in guarding Mr. Liu inside the hospital and the detectives and CSI personnel that put all the pieces together in order to make this quick arrest. It was fine work done by everyone.”

Liu was facing one felony charge of stalking and seven misdemeanor charges, which included battery, disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property and contact after domestic abuse arrest, according to documents posted by the Wisconsin Circuit Court.

According to the criminal complaint, Liu's domestic violence charges stemmed from an incident over the summer during which he became agitated because one of his children was crying and threw a magnetic block across the room, TMJ4 reported. The complaint alleged that Liu yelled at his wife and charged at her, punching her in the shoulder. Liu's wife then took her children into a different room, but Liu forced the door open and smashed one of the children's iPads with a hammer. A 72-hour no-contact order was then put in place, which Liu violated by repeatedly trying to call his wife. Liu made concerning statements to a family friend during this time. The friend reported the comments to police, saying that Liu said “something similar to ‘I’m going to kill one of the kids and me.'” In the complaint, Liu's wife said that domestic violence in the household had been an ongoing issue and had begun at least eight months prior to that incident in December 2021.

Liu pleaded guilty to three of the eight counts: Battery, criminal damage to property and contact after a domestic abuse arrest, TMJ4 reported. Judge Dorow gave Liu four months in jail, work release and probation. On her decision to allow Liu two days to report to jail, Dorow's campaign said in a statement, “First off, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims for a speedy and full recovery. In this case, I sentenced Mr. Liu to jail despite it being his first offense. It's unfortunate he did not report to jail as ordered and instead went to Illinois."