A 53-year-old Chicago man has been sentenced to 20 years stabbing his girlfriend eleven times in a Naperville hotel room in 2022.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced Monday that Willie Tidwell, formerly of the 300 block of West North Avenue in Chicago, has been sentenced to twenty years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Margaret O’Connell. On December 10, 2025, Tidwell entered a plea of guilty to one count of Attempted Murder, a Class X Felony.
According to prosecutors, on September 10, 2022, at approximately 9:17pm, Tidwell, who was involved in a romantic relationship with the victim, went to the Extended Stay in Naperville located at 1827 Centre Point Circle, where the victim had been staying. Once inside the victim’s room, a verbal altercation ensued between the victim and Tidwell after Tidwell accused her of ignoring his calls and blocking his phone number. The altercation turned violent, with Tidwell repeatedly hitting the victim. Tidwell then pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim eleven times about her stomach, neck and chest.
After the attack, Tidwell fled the scene at which time the victim called 911. Following an investigation into the stabbing, Tidwell was identified as a suspect. He was taken into custody from a home in Calumet City on September 30, 2022, without incident.
“The brutal attack of an innocent woman who was left for dead alone in a hotel room, beaten and stabbed multiple times, is a stark reminder that domestic violence continues to plague society,” Berlin said. “The survivor of this horrendous attack will carry physical and emotional scars with her for the rest of her life and I wish her strength as she copes with the aftermath of what Mr. Tidwell has done to her.”
Tidwell will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
