Wisconsin man faces attempted murder charge after dog mauls woman in McHenry park

MCHENRY, Ill. — A Wisconsin man faces attempted first-degree murder and other charges after his dog allegedly attacked a woman Sunday afternoon as she walked her own dog in a McHenry park.

The victim, a 59-year-old woman, was seriously injured and flown to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville after the attack at Petersen Park, located at 4300 block of Petersen Park Road.

Authorities said Raymond Link, 47, of West Allis, Wis., allowed his dog to be off-leash. The dog, described by officials with McHenry County Animal Control as a 60-pound white and brown Pitbull mix, reportedly attacked the woman at about 3:30 p.m.

The woman was airlifted to Advocate Condell Medical Center in serious condition with injuries to her face and dog bites. A 37-year-old man who attempted to intervene was also injured. He was transported to McHenry Hospital with a broken clavicle and dog bite.

“That shouldn’t happen. If you have a guard dog it has to be maintained in your yard,” resident John Turcan said in reacting to news of the attack.

Link faced a McHenry County judge Monday afternoon. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery with great bodily harm, two counts of aggravated battery in a public place and one count of aggravated battery by strangulation.

Link’s dog was later located and released to the care of the McHenry County Animal Control where it remained Monday.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call police at 815-363-2599.

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