Decatur Man Faces Allegations of Domestic Battery: Shocking Details Unveiled

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DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — An enthusiastic reaction to a football game turned into a violent altercation for a Decatur woman, leading to an alleged assault by her husband, according to local police.

Court documents from Macon County reveal that Carl Klaus, age 53, now faces serious legal consequences, including two felony charges for aggravated domestic battery by strangulation and causing significant bodily harm. Additionally, Klaus is charged with three misdemeanors: two for battery and one for obstructing the reporting of domestic violence.

In a detailed affidavit, Decatur Police recounted the events of the domestic dispute that unfolded Monday night near Phillips and Ridgeway Drives. Officer Joseph Oberheim, who provided the affidavit, described how Klaus was in the kitchen making a sandwich when his wife’s animated response to a football game caught his attention in the living room.

“She reported that Carl returned to the living room to inquire about her shouting,” Officer Oberheim stated. “She further alleged that Carl then attacked her, striking her with a closed fist approximately four times and slapping her four times as well.”

The victim told officers that Klaus pulled her out of her chair and then put her in a chokehold.

[The victim] advised Carl said he was going to kill her,” Oberheim added. “[She] stated Carl began squeezing so hard that she could barely breathe.”

The victim estimated that Klaus strangled her 10 times during the incident. Oberheim said she also described being cornered in the bathroom with a steak knife held to her neck, Klaus twisting her arm in an attempt to break it and him grabbing her phone out of her hands when she said she was going to call police.

When the victim tried to escape the home, she said Klaus threw a wooden TV tray at her that missed. The woman believed that Klaus also tried to throw a brick at her car as she drove away in it.

“[The victim] advised this is not the first time there has been a physical altercation,” Oberheim said. “[She] stated there have been approximately 4-5 times that there has been a physical altercation…this is the worst it has gotten. [She] believed that she was going to be killed.”

Oberheim described the victim’s injuries as including a small laceration to her nose, small scratches on the left side of her throat and left wrist, and her throat was extremely red.

He added that the victim said she had tried to get an order of protection against Klaus in the past. A check of the Macon County Circuit Clerk’s website found no prior domestic violence convictions in Klaus’ name.

Klaus was arrested just after midnight on Dec. 23, and he made his first appearance before a judge the same day. Court records show the Macon County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Klaus ahead of his trial, and Judge Rodney Forbes granted that petition, keeping him in custody through Christmas and New Year’s Day.

He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 7.