Babysitter accused of stabbing two young girls in Lisle home: prosecutors

A motion to deny pretrial release was granted Dec. 27 for a Naperville woman accused of stabbing two young girls, ages 4 and 1, while babysitting at their Lisle home, authorities said.

Jennifer Kouchoukos, 51, of the 3000 block of Rollingridge Road, appeared in First Appearance Court charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery to a child younger than 13 and two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

The state filed a motion for a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant.

About 5:15 p.m. Nov. 17, Lisle police officers responded to a residence on Matson Lane for a report of a suicide attempt. Upon their arrival, officers observed one of the children sitting in a bathroom covered in blood and the other child sitting nearby on the kitchen floor, also covered in blood, according to the release.

Officers also observed the defendant wearing blood-soaked clothing near the vanity in the same bathroom as the first child. The children were taken to a local hospital for medical attention and then transferred to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Kouchoukos, who was unresponsive to any questions or commands, was taken to a local hospital for medical attention, according to the release.

After an investigation, it is alleged that while Kouchoukos was babysitting the children, she stabbed them multiple times in their back and chest areas. When processing the scene, authorities located multiple knives stained with what appeared to be blood, an empty bottle of wine and an almost empty bottle of rum, authorities said.

Kouchoukos was released from the hospital and taken to the DuPage County Jail on Dec. 26.

“This is an extremely disturbing case for all those involved,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “We are all very grateful that the injuries sustained by the young girls in this case were not life-threatening and that they both appear to be on the road to recovery. I commend the Lisle Police Department for their efforts on this very upsetting case.”

“What a horrific incident our officers were faced with. I cannot praise them enough,” Lisle Chief of Police Kevin Licko said in the release. “Once they knew there were injured children inside, the officers rushed into the house without hesitation. I commend them for executing their job skillfully and professionally. I especially want to thank Detective Sgt. Jim Eccardt and his team for their hard work on this challenging case. In addition, I’d like to thank the DuPage County Children’s Advocacy Center and State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s office for their support and legal guidance.”

Kouchoukos’ next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 12 for arraignment.