Crystal Lake man accused of attacking wife with hatchet is due to stand trial Tuesday

The trial of a Crystal Lake man charged with attempted murder of his wife with a hatchet and hammer in 2022 in Crystal Lake is set to start Tuesday.

Mark Alex, 60, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated domestic battery, five counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and endangering a child, court records show.

The trial is due to start Tuesday in front of Judge Mark Gerhardt. Mark Alex has been in custody at the McHenry County jail since being arrested at an Algonquin hotel the day of the alleged attack.

Wilma Alex – formerly Wilma Wenceslao Morales, who was 30 in 2014 when she met Mark Alex on a Philippine dating site – had filed for divorce in 2021. A year later, on the afternoon of March 5, 2022, Mark Alex allegedly went to her apartment and attacked her with a hatchet and hammer, according to court documents.

Authorities said Mark Alex, a Polish national who requires an interpreter in court, bought the tools from a local home improvement store earlier that day, then went to the Crystal Lake apartment where his then-estranged wife and 2-year-old child were living.

The recording of a 911 call, a text message and police body camera footage of a bloodied Wilma Alex in her Crystal Lake apartment are expected to be shown at the trial. It appears the jury may also hear of previous police reports of alleged domestic violence.

Wilma Alex has been subpoenaed to take the stand by Mark Alex’s attorney Daniel Hofmann, according to court documents. Other witnesses include Crystal Lake police officers, a registered nurse and a dispatcher.

Prosecutors have sought to include evidence about a previous alleged incident of domestic violence that happened in Melbourne, Florida, when Wilma Alex was seven months pregnant and Mark Alex “hit her with his hands,” according to court documents. Hofmann, who is arguing Mark Alex acted in self-defense, said Wilma Alex was “jealous” when Mark Alex communicated with his ex-wife.

Wilma Alex said she had filed multiple orders of protection against him in the months prior to the alleged attack. On the day of the alleged attack, there was no order of protection in place and she allowed Mark Alex to visit their child. When she rejected his advances and walked into the bathroom he came in and allegedly beat her in the head with the tools, Wilma Alex and authorities have said.

Wilma Alex previously shared with the Northwest Herald the story of her life with Mark Alex and the alleged domestic violence she said she had endured over the years. Divorced from Mark Alex since 2022, she said she still dealt with bouts of anxiety and depression from what happened but “is now doing much better.”

“I can say I’m in a happy place now with my son and my boyfriend and his family,” she said. “I can really say that I have a family here. I have a lot of support from his family. In the beginning it was very, very hard. Now it seems like everything is all good. My son is in school and very happy and he is not having nightmares anymore. We are at peace.”