A 44-year-old Illinois woman is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly attacking a friend with pepper spray and a knife during an argument that police say began with a seemingly harmless comment about her hair.
Cynthia Denise Dear, of Decatur, was arrested following the October 11 confrontation, which left another woman hospitalized with a stab wound to her chest.
According to court documents, the two women were friends when the victim noticed something in Dear’s hair and casually pointed it out.
“Your hair has fuzz in it,” the woman reportedly said.
Investigators say the remark was not intended as an insult, but Dear allegedly became upset and began arguing with her friend.
What started as a minor disagreement quickly escalated into a physical confrontation near the intersection of Pearl and Illinois streets in Decatur.
According to a sworn police statement obtained by local television station WCIA, Dear was sitting in a truck when she allegedly began yelling at the woman.
The victim told investigators that Dear threatened to give her what she called the “dirty south treatment.”
Rather than continue the argument, the woman said she attempted to walk home.
However, police allege Dear got out of the truck, approached her friend and struck her before returning to the vehicle.
The woman continued walking, but the confrontation reportedly wasn’t over.
Investigators say Dear approached her again, sprayed her with pepper spray and jumped onto her back.
During the struggle, the victim noticed that Dear was holding a can of pepper spray and a knife with a black handle.
The woman managed to push Dear away and briefly restrain her on the ground. Moments later, she realized she had been stabbed in the upper chest, according to police.
A witness who noticed the injury rushed to a nearby Burger King to get help.
Emergency responders arrived and transported the woman to a local hospital, where doctors treated the wound with stitches.
Authorities have not publicly identified the victim or released additional details about her recovery.
Later that evening, police located Dear inside a truck.
Investigators reported recovering a knife with what appeared to be blood on it from the vehicle, along with a can of pepper spray nearby.
While being questioned at the police station, Dear allegedly asked officers about her friend’s condition.
According to the police report, she then made a statement acknowledging the stabbing while claiming it had not been intentional.
“I didn’t mean to stab her. It was a mistake,” she allegedly told investigators.
Dear has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery. The charges involve allegations of using a deadly weapon, causing great bodily harm and committing battery in a public place.
Under Illinois law, aggravated battery is more serious than simple battery because it involves additional circumstances, such as the use of a deadly weapon or substantial injury.
The charges do not mean Dear has been found guilty. Prosecutors must establish the elements of the alleged offenses through the legal process.
Court records indicate that Dear remains in custody at the Macon County Jail after being denied pretrial release.
She is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on October 28.
At that hearing, a judge will consider whether prosecutors have presented sufficient evidence for the felony case to proceed. It is not a determination of guilt.
What makes the case particularly unusual is the seemingly minor comment that investigators believe sparked the confrontation.
A casual observation about someone’s hair allegedly escalated into a serious assault, leaving one woman injured and another facing potentially significant prison time.
