CHICAGO — A North Side woman, handcuffed by Chicago police after fatally stabbing her boyfriend, commanded her Google device to play several songs so she could dance in the couple’s living room as she waited to go to be brought to the Area Three police station, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Whitney Wilcox, 40, was eventually released without being charged in connection with the murder of 43-year-old Jeremy Rodgers, but that changed Monday morning when police showed up at her door and took her into custody.
In an offering from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Prosecutor Michael Rusch said Wilcox called 911 around 2:20 a.m. on Feb. 26 and reported Rodgers had been stabbed, but she didn’t know who did it.
Wilcox, “distressed but otherwise clean and free of blood,” answered the door when police arrived. They found Rodgers lying near the bathroom, crying in pain, bleeding from the abdomen and moaning that Wilcox had stabbed him, Rusch said. He said Rodgers, who died the next day, also told paramedics and hospital staff that Wilcox was responsible.
Investigators found a large bloody knife next to the kitchen counter. DNA testing showed Wilcox’s genetic material was on the handle and Rodgers’ blood was on the blade, Rusch said.
Wilcox allegedly admitted responsibility, but claimed they had had an argument and she stabbed him in self-defense.
While she waited to be taken in for questioning, Wilcox “ordered her Google device to play several songs and danced while she sat handcuffed in the living room,” Rauch’s offering said. For reasons not explained by prosecutors, Wilcox was released in February without charges being filed.
Her criminal background is limited to two DUIs in Florida, one in 2005 and one in 2006, according to Rauch.
Judge Caroline Glennon-Goodman ordered Wilcox held pending trial.
Tim Hecke is the managing partner of CWBChicago. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there he went on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services serving each of America’s 100 largest radio markets. He became managing partner of CWBChicago in 2019. His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com
