Man wearing Halloween mask stabbed caretaker 30 times in suburban Chicago: police

PLAINFIELD, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A man is accused of putting on a Halloween mask and stabbing his caretaker dozens of times after she took his phone away Saturday at an assisted living home in southwest suburban Plainfield.

Ederaldo Frantz, 24, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of attempted murder, according to a statement form the Will County sheriff’s office.

Authorities were called with reports of the attack about 8 p.m. at a residential home for people with developmental disabilities in the 23000 block of Fern Street in Plainfield, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies arrived to see Frantz sitting in the front yard with the mask on and blood on his arms, being restrained by Plainfield police officers.

Investigators learned that he and his caretaker, a 50-year-old woman, argued earlier in the evening “regarding Frantz’s inappropriate use of his cell phone where he had contacted a female,” the sheriff’s office said. She took away his phone and returned to the home’s living area.

A short time later, Frantz put the mask on, started playing the “Halloween” theme song on his iPod and took a kitchen knife into the living area, where he stabbed the woman more than 30 times, the sheriff’s office said.

The blade of the knife broke off during the attack and got stuck in the woman’s chest, authorities said. She was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and is expected to recover.

Frantz is being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility on $500,000 bail, according to the sheriff’s office. His next court date was set for June 27.

The residence is managed through a home nursing company called Help at Home, the sheriff’s office said.

Joel Davis, general counsel for Help at Home, confirmed the caretaker injured in the attack is an employee of the company but declined to comment further about the incident because the investigation is ongoing