Video Shows Person Of Interest In 'Sexually Motivated' Stabbing

CHICAGO — Chicago police released video Wednesday of a person wanted for questioning in last week's stabbing of a woman near DePaul University's Lincoln Park campus.

The 22-year-old woman was attacked by a man who intended to rape her and tried to abduct her as she walked home around 3:30 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Fullerton Avenue, Halsted Street and Lincoln Avenue, police said.

The woman's throat was slashed and she suffered cuts to her face. She was taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital in critical condition, and her condition was later upgraded to serious, police said.

Investigators believe the attack was sexually motivated, but the woman fought with her attacker and was not sexually assaulted, according to Anthony Guglielmi, chief communications officer for Chicago police, who identified the "near-fatal stabbing" victim as a university student.

Police asked the public for help identifying the person shown on video, who is believed to have stolen a car from the 300 block of North Desplaines Avenue around 10:30 a.m. the day before the stabbing. Police said they have recovered the Suzuki Vitara thought to have been used in the attack.

The person shown in the surveillance video has been seen regularly in the area of the intersections of Halsted Street and Milwaukee and Grand avenues, as well as Division and Orleans, according to police.

A driver working for a ride-hailing company told the Chicago Tribune he noticed the woman lying on the sidewalk surrounded by blood and called 911 about 15 minutes after the stabbing. The officers who arrived at the scene found a large pool of blood in an alley about a half-block from away from where the driver discovered the woman, the Tribune reported.

A DePaul spokesperson told the Sun-Times the woman recently graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in anthropology.

Investigators believe the woman was walking home from a bar when she was stalked by the man, WLS reported. Surveillance video from the scene shows a man scouting the area, driving the wrong way down Belden Street and getting out before attacking the woman, although it does not show the attack.

According to WLS, police are looking into whether the woman may have obtained DNA evidence that could be used to identify her attacker, although it could take more than a year to receive results.

Anyone with information about the man's identity was asked to contact detectives at 312-747-8380 or submit tips anonymously to cpdtip.com.