Dog Killer In Crest Hill Learns Her Sentence After 2024 Fatal Stabbing

JOLIET ? The Will County State?s Attorney James Glasgow issued a press release on Friday announcing that Tamica Neal, 45, of Crestwood, was sentenced recently to one year in prison for aggravated cruelty to animals.

Neal was found guilty of the aggravated cruelty to animals and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following a four-day jury trial before Will County Circuit Judge John Connor that concluded on November 7, 2024.

According to the prosecutor's press release, on March 17, 2024, the Crest Hill Police Department was dispatched to 1906 N. Hickory Street for a disturbance involving Neal and her boyfriend. Witnesses indicated that when they tried to break up the altercation, Neal ran out of the bedroom to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Neal grabbed a knife and swung it at a victim, and also put a minor in fear of getting struck by that knife.

The owner of the home Neal was staying owned a female dog that Neal stabbed multiple times, causing the pet to later succumb to her injuries.

?Protecting animals helps all of us.? Glasgow said. ?That is why I wrote the Illinois Animal Torture Statute, which created the first felony charge in the State for the abuse and torture of animals as well as founded the Animal Protection Unit in the State?s Attorney?s Office to prosecute cases of animal abuse and neglect.?

Neal was eligible for a sentence of either probation or one to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The 1-year sentence in prison will be served at 50 percent, and Neal will receive 17 days credit for time served. During the sentencing hearing, the judge considered the defendant?s history, which included previous incidents Neal used or attempted to use a knife during altercations.

Glasgow thanked Assistant State?s Attorneys, Jeffrey Brown, Lauren Senko, Victim Witness Advocate Elizabeth Ruiz, and the Crest Hill Police Department for their hard work and dedication in this matter.