Michael Axtell



Michael Axtell of Antioch Township faces several counts of first-degree murder in the alleged beating death of his girlfriend, 40-year-old Tammy Stone, in October 2012.



Stone was fatally injured after calling her 19-year-old daughter to tell her that Axtell had struck her in the eye at her home on Bond Avenue, according to authorities.



Lake County Sheriff's police reports indicate that the incident escalated with a physical altercation between Stone's daughter and Axtell related to injuries the mother suffered. The daughter, who was not seriously injured, left the home through the home's garage expecting her mother to follow, police said.



The daughter then heard a loud and suspicious noise coming from inside the home, "like a bowling ball hitting the floor," according to police reports. Stone died from injuries suffered at that scene, according to police and prosecutors.