A Florida man has been charged with attempted murder in Cook County after authorities said he sliced off another man’s genitals and beat him so severely that he suffered brain damage.

The 26-year-old victim, who was dating the suspect’s former girlfriend and was left in a pool of his own blood, survived the attack, which occurred in Des Plaines, officials said.

Justin Foster, 28, of Tallahassee, was ordered held without bail Friday in the March attack.

According to prosecutors, Foster flew from Atlanta to Chicago on March 13, rented a car and drove to the 1100 block of Holiday Lane in Des Plaines, apparently to confront his romantic rival. When Foster saw the victim, he approached him and began striking him in the head repeatedly with a tire iron until he lost consciousness, authorities said.

Foster then carved his initials into the victim’s leg, cut off his genitals and tossed them over a fence, and then left the victim, who was bleeding profusely, near a parked car, prosecutors said. Foster then drove back to O’Hare International Airport and boarded a flight back to Atlanta, authorities said.

A passerby found the victim a short time later and called police. The man was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and eventually transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago for treatment of life-threatening injuries, police said.

Authorities said they learned in the course of the investigation that Foster had sent emails and text messages with references to violence to the victim and the victim’s girlfriend, with whom Foster has a child.

Des Plaines police identified Foster as the suspect and, in the ensuing months, executed more than 40 search warrants and issued more than 20 subpoenas to build their case. With assistance from police in Tallahassee, Foster was taken into custody Aug. 25 and later charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery.

Foster waived extradition and was transferred from Florida to Cook County Jail on Thursday.

Prosecutors and police said the victim suffered a traumatic brain injury, skull fractures and lacerations; he was released from the hospital after several months but requires around-the-clock care.

The victim “will never fully recover from injuries sustained as a result of this incident,” Des Plaines police said in a news release Friday.

Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.