A Wisconsin man, Raymond Link, 47, was found guilty on attempted first-degree murder and six counts of aggravated battery after he and his dog attacked a 59-year-old woman in Peterson Park in McHenry. A second man was injured while trying to intervene. Link is
When Raymond Link walked through Peterson Park with his dog unleashed, prosecutors say he was already carrying out a violence that would land him in court more than two years later—this time with a judge finding him guilty on the most serious charges.
On Monday, Judge Tiffany Davis found Link, 47, guilty of attempted first-degree murder and six counts of aggravated battery, according to the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office.
The case stems from an attack on May 5, 2024, at about 3:25 p.m. in Peterson Park, located at 300 Peterson Park Road. Prosecutors said Link was walking with his unleashed dog when he and the dog—identified as Dhamer—attacked a 59-year-old woman who was also walking her dog.
Prosecutors said Link beat. stomped and strangled the woman before his dog bit her. “nearly claiming her life.” The woman suffered injuries to her face and multiple dog bites. She was taken in serious condition to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital and later flown to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
A separate man, 37, tried to intervene after he saw Link kick the woman in the head, prosecutors said. But he was also injured by Link and the dog. The man suffered a broken clavicle and was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital.
“This was a horrific act of violence that forever changed the lives of two innocent people,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese said. “The victim endured unimaginable injuries, and a brave citizen put himself in harm’s way to intervene and help save her life.”
The sequence of injuries laid out in court is stark: a woman attacked in the park. serious injuries that required multiple hospitals. and a second person hurt while trying to stop what prosecutors described as a life-threatening assault. The charges were written around that reality—attempted murder paired with six separate aggravated battery counts.
Link is set to be sentenced in September.
Raymond Link Peterson Park McHenry County dog attack attempted murder aggravated battery Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital Condell Medical Center Randi L. Freese Tiffany Davis
Unleashed dog turns into attempted murder real quick… smh.
So was the dog even supposed to be there or like did the dog just go rogue? They keep saying the dog attacked too but I’m confused how a guy stomps and then the dog bites, like which part is the “murder” part.
Judge Tiffany Davis found him guilty but I keep thinking this is one of those cases where the system was already waiting 2 years. Also why was he walking with an unleashed dog?? Like the city should’ve stopped him before anything happened. (Not saying that excuses him obviously.)
Peterson Park always had weird energy to me, and now this. Unleashed dog name Dhamer?? That’s wild. I don’t even get the “attempted first-degree murder” thing like if he strangled her and it “nearly claimed her life” then how is it not just first-degree? Sentencing in September better be real, because two people got messed up.