An Illinois nurse was handcuffed, beaten and sexually assaulted for over seven hours by her jealous ex-boyfriend before he strangled her to death, police say.
Katherine Torbick, 43, was found dead in her $500,000 home in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg on April 20 after allegedly being attacked by her former partner Kevin Motykie, 56.
Schaumburg police said they responded to a welfare check at Torbick’s home at 9:20pm, and found Motykie in the garage and his ex-girlfriend dead on a couch inside the property.
When Motykie was taken into custody, officers found an audio recording device in his pocket containing a nightmarish seven-hour recording of him torturing Torbick, police said.
Prosecutors said the recording began at 2am on April 20 and lasted until 9:24am, containing horrific audio of Torbick being repeatedly assaulted and pleading for help.
The recording allegedly began with Motykie and Torbick arguing, before she was heard screaming for him to get off her and struggling against being handcuffed.
Prosecutors said the couple had been in a relationship for 10 years but broke up in January, and said in the recording Motykie accused her of repeatedly cheating on him as she screamed for help.
The horror audio included hours of Motykie allegedly handcuffing, beating, binding with duct tape, and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend, and ended with him strangling her to death, prosecutors said.
Katherine Torbick, 43, was found dead in her home in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg on April 20 after allegedly being attacked by her former partner in a brutal seven-hour torture episode
Kevin Motykie, 56, allegedly handcuffed, beat and sexually assaulted Torbick for hours in the early hours of April 20 inside her home in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg
The scene inside Torbick’s home was discovered after her new boyfriend, who has not been named, called police to say he had not heard from her for over a day.
Prosecutors said after Torbick and Motykie ended their decade-long relationship, she began seeing a new lover in April.
Schaumbrg police said they were aware of a recent domestic violence incident at Torbick’s home involving Motykie in March, where he allegedly choked her and tried to gouge out her eyeballs.
At the time of the alleged attack, Motykie had a pending arrest warrant for aggravated domestic battery from that incident, police said.
Officers had to force their way inside Torbick’s home as the front door had been barricaded, and discovered Motykie still at the residence when they found Torbick’s body inside.
A proffer of the recording found on Motykie allegedly included audio of Torbick repeatedly begging for her life throughout the seven-hour ordeal.
Officers said they could hear ‘the sounds of ripping duct tape’ on the audio, and Motykie telling his ex numerous times that he was going to murder her.
He allegedly strangled her several times over the night, before the final fatal episode lasted over four minutes as she fell silent.
After allegedly murdering Torbick, Motykie then said he had ‘gotta go hang myself’, and said ‘this will take 30 seconds, and think of somewhere happy’, prosecutors said.
Torbick was found dead on a couch inside her home in Schaumburg, Illinois, and Torbick was arrested in the garage with a recording device in his pocket detailing the seven-hour torture episode, police said
Motykie has faced numerous brushes with the law, including several family members and ex-partners taking order of protection filings out against him. At the time of Torbick’s death, he had an active warrant out for an alleged domestic battery incident against her in March
Motykie is facing first-degree murder charges, and he was held at a medical facility for several weeks before his first court appearance on May 8, where he was ordered to be held without bail.
Tributes poured in for Torbick following news of her death, as friends told WGN9 that she was a dedicated nurse who always put others before herself.
Julie Bevel, her boss at Fox River MedSpa where she worked as a gastroenterology nurse, said she was ‘heartbroken’ by the loss of Torbick, a mother of one.
‘In the short time she was with us, she became a part of our Sisterhood,’ Bevel said. ‘She brought warmth, energy, and genuine care to our workplace. She loved being part of this team, and we loved having her here.
‘Our hearts are with her family, especially her son, during this unimaginable time. We are holding them in our thoughts and sending all the strength and support we can.’
According to court records in Cook County cited by WGN9, Motykie has a history of domestic violence allegations against him involving a number of former partners and family members.
He has had numerous cases filed against him for orders of protection, and at the time of Torbick’s death he had a warrant out for his arrest for a domestic battery incident against her.
In that incident in March, prosecutors said he tried to gouge out her eyeballs and choked her until she couldn’t breathe while being held at knifepoint.
Police at the scene of Torbick’s home after her body was found, which came after her new boyfriend called a welfare check on her property when he couldn’t get hold of her
Torbick was eventually able to escape to a neighbor’s home, and she was transported to hospital with injuries while warning officers that she believed Motykie was trying to kill her.
A warrant for his arrest was issued, but Schaumburg police had failed to locate Motykie before he allegedly returned to murder Torbick on April 20.
Prosecutors said that based on audio recordings, Motykie had been living in the home again as recently as March 22.
Alongside his order of protection cases over several years, Motykie was also accused by his brother, a plastic surgeon in California, of stealing over $458,000 from his business during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Motykie’s brushes with the law date back over 35 years, as reported court records showed he pleaded guilty to a forgery charge in 1991.
He also had cases for reckless driving and retail theft in 1987 and 1988 respectively, and both cases resulted in supervised release sentences.
