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Englewood Man Accused Of Throwing Caustic Substance On Stepson

CHICAGO (STMW) -- An Englewood neighborhood man has been charged with heinous battery for allegedly injuring his stepson with a caustic liquid and a screwdriver, police said.

Karl Morley, 48, of 1517 W. 72nd St., was charged with one count of felony heinous battery and one count of misdemeanor domestic battery. Morley was scheduled to appear in court Sunday.

Morley came to Wentworth Area detective division with high-profile attorney Joel Brodsky and was identified by his stepson as the person who threw an unidentified caustic substance from a Jack Daniel's whiskey bottle on the stepson's body on June 6, according to police.

The victim, 22, received burns to his face, neck and mouth and was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County for the burns, police said.

The victim reported to police that on May 24, Morley allegedly stabbed him multiple times in the head with a screwdriver, causing lacerations and scratches to his head, face and neck, police said.

Brodsky is former Bolingbrook cops Drew Peterson's attorney. Peterson has spent the last two years in the county jail while awaiting trial for the murder of his third wife Kathleen Savio. Savio was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004, while she and Peterson were in the midst of a divorce, and her death was ruled accidental.

But after fourth wife Stacy Peterson disappeared in October 2007, Savio's death was ruled a homicide. Police have said Peterson is a suspect in Stacy's disappearance, but no charges have been filed.

Wentworth Area detectives are investigating.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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