UPDATE: Palatine Woman Tied Up, Robbed in Home Invasion

A 46-year-old Palatine woman was bound with duct tape, tied up by two armed men during a home invasion on the 400 block of West Brookline Court Wednesday morning, police said.

“She was screaming and crying,” said Sonnia, the victim’s next-door neighbor, “I saw it on her face, she couldn’t believe what had just happened.”

Sonnia, who did not want to give her last name, said the 46-year-old woman ran to her house as soon as she broke free after the men who robbed her had left.

“She pounded on the doorbell, she just kept hitting it and hitting it until I came to the door.” Sonnia said her neighbor was so disheveled that she didn’t even recognize her at first, but she knew the woman desperately needed help.

“She said 'Call police, I’ve been assaulted!' ” Sonnia said the woman was frantic, “She was just crying, she said two men were waiting for her with pistols.”

The 46-year-old woman returned home from the gym around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday. According to the Palatine Police Department, two men armed with handguns confronted the woman when she entered her home on West Brookline Court.

“She said they were hiding, waiting for her to get out of the car,” said Sonnia. “They cornered her and they had guns, she had to listen to them.”

Police said the woman was tied up in the basement while the two men burglarized her home. According to the Palatine Police Department, the two men stole items from the woman’s purse and home before taking off in her 2009 black Cadillac Escalade.

The 46-year-old woman struggled for two hours before she was finally able to break free from the duct tape. Sonnia said see could see the woman fought hard to free herself, “Her wrists were so red, you could just see it, they were so bright.”

According to Sonnia when she found her neighbor on her doorstep the woman had thick red marks and tape residue on her wrists and all the way around her legs.

The 46-year-old woman sat on the front step while Sonnia dialed 911 around 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. “I told her to come inside but she just sat there,” Sonnia said, “I think she was too scared to move.”

Police said the woman was not seriously injured during the home invasion and refused any medical attention. Sonnia said she checked on her next-door neighbor Thursday and that she is very shaken up.

“She said she can’t sleep,” Sonnia said, “I knew she wasn’t sleeping, I saw all the lights on in the house all night.”

Investigators were able to track the stolen vehicle through an “On-Star” system and the abandoned Escalade was found Wednesday on West Monroe Street in Chicago, more than 30 miles from the small cul-de-sac in Palatine.

According to Sonnia, the victim was unable to identify the two men. “She could only see their eyes,” Sonnia said the woman told her the two men wore ski masks and never saw their faces.

The suspects are described at black men in their 20s, one being about 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds, the other standing around 5-foot-10, weighing about 160 pounds.

Palatine Investigators currently are following up on leads in an effort to identify the offenders.  Anyone with information should call 847-359-9000.

According to Sonnia, the 46-year-old woman is a single mom with three kids; the youngest is in high school.

“It’s just so strange,” Sonnia said, “This is such a quiet neighborhood, I just don’t get it.” At the end of the small cul-de-sac in the Wexford subdivision, Sonnia said, “You just never know who could or why someone would attack you.”