Lisa Kramarenko, who survived a brutal February 2000 attack, pointed an accusatory finger at her former husband, Eric, on Thursday and said she would never forget his laugh as she begged for her life.
“I thought it was a burglar,” she testified. “I said, `Please, take what you want and leave us.’ He said `never’ and he laughed. It was his voice and his laugh.”
Eric and Lisa Kramarenko were together since they were teenagers and had been married and divorced once already before remarrying in 1995 and having a daughter, Ashley.
The couple was living in Elmhurst, while Lisa was a law clerk for a federal judge in Chicago. As the second divorce grew more contentious, she moved in January 2000 with Ashley to a Glendale Heights apartment.
On Feb. 9, as mother and daughter entered that home, she was attacked from behind with a metal pole, suffering severe head injuries.
Eric Kramarenko was always the main suspect but he was not charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery for more than a year.
Eric Kramarenko denies that he was the attacker and claims that his former wife is trying to continue to punish him.
John Donahue, defense attorney, questioned the victim about several statements she gave police from her hospital bed, which included her claiming she didn’t see the attacker’s face and didn’t know his race.
Lisa Kramarenko noted that she was under the effects of drugs at the hospital, including morphine, and in constant pain. Several taped interviews with police include her remembering the attacker saying “never” and laughing.
The victim was on the witness stand all day Thursday, with the trial expected to last through next week.
If convicted, Eric Kramarenko faces 6 to 30 years in prison.
