Decatur woman sentenced to probation for slashing boyfriend with knife

DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A Decatur woman has been sentenced to two years of probation after she pleaded guilty to slashing the father of her children with a knife during an argument earlier this year.

Lelah Clark, 25, was facing four counts of aggravated battery and domestic battery following the incident in August. Last month, she pleaded guilty to one of the aggravated battery counts in exchange for the remaining counts being dropped.

Clark was in a six-year dating relationship with the 31-year-old victim and they shared two children, according to a sworn statement from the Decatur Police Department. The couple was in Torrence Park on Aug. 23 when they got into an argument.

During that argument, Clark displayed a “hook knife” and used it to cut her boyfriend in the left forearm. The officer who signed the statement said the knife left a six-inch laceration that was deep enough to see muscle under the skin.

The victim was transported to Decatur Memorial Hospital to receive treatment for the injury.

Records from the Macon County Circuit Clerk’s Office showed Clark had no convictions related to domestic violence prior to this incident. She was denied pretrial release and spent 34 days in custody before her guilty plea.

Judge Thomas Griffith gave Clark credit for that time spent in custody and ordered her to be released from the Macon County Jail. In addition to probation, Judge Griffith ordered her to seek a mental health and drug abuse evaluation and complete any treatment he recommended.

She was also ordered to stay away from her boyfriend except to co-parent their children.

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