Wilmington Police responded to the 1200 block of Towpath Lane Friday evening after receiving a 9-1-1 call that a 71-year old disabled man had been attacked in his home. On arrival they were met by the victims niece (who is also his caretaker) and another woman who lives in the home who stated that when they had returned after being out, they found the victim, Sherrell “Bud” Martin in his chair bleeding from the head and face and called 9-1-1.
They also said that the victims ex sister-in-law, Donna Reynolds (67 of Wilmington) had struck Martin with his walker, and was sitting in the garage of the residence. Mr. Martin told officers that he and Reynolds had been arguing for a few days, and that out of nowhere, Reynolds started striking him in the face and then picked up Martin’s walker and starting hitting him with it. Martin stated that due to his disability he was unable to defend himself.  Martin was transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
Wilmington Police report after Reynolds changed her story a few times regarding the events that led to Martins injuries, officers placed her in custody. While being processed at the police department, Reynolds started to have difficulty breathing and was also transported to Morris Hospital for treatment. Upon her release she was brought back to WPD to complete processing. While officers were processing Reynolds, they received another call at Mr. Martin’s home, this time because Mr. Martin had stopped breathing after returning from the hospital. Officers arrived and started CPR and utilized an AED in an attempt to revive Mr. Martin. The Wilmington Fire Protection District ambulance arrived and took over life saving efforts while transporting Mr. Martin to St. Joe Medical Center. Unfortunately, Mr. Martin was pronounced dead at 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
Donna Reynolds was charged with Aggravated Battery and transported to the Will County Adult Detention Facility where she is being held on $150,000 bond. Due to Mr. Martins death, the investigation continues pending results of a postmortem examination by the Will County Coroners office.