A Chicago woman who slashed and stabbed strangers in a series of random attacks across the city will receive a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to various felony crimes.
According to court records, Shaynella Williams, 35, pled guilty to five charges of aggravated violence in connection with a series of unprovoked stabbings in 2022 and 2023. Three different judges heard the cases, resulting in an effective sentence of five years in jail, followed by a consecutive two-year term.
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The first attack related to Williams occurred on June 18, 2022, when a woman heading home from the beach had her arm sliced on the 1700 block of West North Avenue in Bucktown.
Prosecutors claim Williams parked her red Kia across the street, crossed over, and swiped the unsuspecting victim. The woman had 13 stitches to heal her wound. Police tracked Williams down using her Kia’s license plate, but she was released pretrial after posting a $2,000 bond deposit.
Prosecutors allege that Williams struck again while on bail. On the afternoon of January 8, 2023, she allegedly committed a series of random stabbings throughout the city.
Williams strolled inside a McDonald’s at 2317 North Cicero Avenue, thrust a knife into the back of a grandfather, and then stabbed his wife in the head while they were dining with their four grandkids. Customers photographed her fleeing in the same red Kia, and investigators later established that her phone pinged in the vicinity.
Minutes later, in the 5300 block of West Lawrence Avenue, Williams stabbed a woman holding a giant plant, causing a leg wound that physicians treated with three staples, according to authorities. Williams then allegedly pulled up next to another woman in the 4500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue and stabbed her in the back. Prosecutors say surveillance video captured much of the spree.
Days later, on January 12, 2023, police claimed Williams entered a laundromat in the 4300 block of West 26th Street, stabbed a 61-year-old lady in the leg, and then fled in her red automobile. The victim sustained critical injuries.
One of Williams’ attorneys stated during early court proceedings that she is a licensed practical nurse who resided with her mother and two children, ages 14 and 17, at the time of the offenses.
Under Illinois law, Williams’ sentence will be reduced in half for good behavior, and she will earn additional reductions from roughly 1,000 days of credit she accumulated in Cook County jail.
