Woman held after cutting boyfriend with knife during Waukegan dispute

A 36-year-old woman from Georgia is facing new felony charges after cutting her long-time partner with a kitchen knife in a Waukegan apartment. Jessica Olivares-Moran, of Marietta, Georgia, was charged with one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of domestic battery.

Waukegan Police responded to the 2800 block of Washington Street around 9:42 p.m. on October 29. A man called 911 to report that his girlfriend had cut him with a knife and remained inside the home. The victim emerged with a visible laceration and minor bleeding between his right thumb and index finger.

Officers discovered that Olivares-Moran had an active warrant for aggravated assault with a weapon. She became argumentative at the doorway and refused to comply with verbal announcements of her arrest. Officers forcibly took her into custody. Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Eryka Jones noted that the victim and Olivares-Moran have been together for 20 years and share four children who live in Georgia.

The victim told officers that the pair argued over their daughter’s plan to enlist in the Army. He stated that Olivares-Moran followed him to the bathroom with a knife. The two struggled over the weapon, and he was cut on his right hand. He pushed her away and fled, but she followed him while still holding the knife.

Olivares-Moran gave a different account to officers. She claimed the victim suddenly choked her with a belt and then cut his own hand with the knife to frame her. She said she took the knife away before police arrived. However, officers did not see visible injuries on her that matched her story. The victim declined to pursue private charges and confirmed no firearms were accessible in the home.

This is the second time in three years Olivares-Moran has faced charges involving a knife and the same victim. In March 2024, police responded to a 911 call after she stabbed him in the abdomen while he lay in bed. She pleaded guilty to domestic battery in May 2024 and received 24 months of probation. Prosecutors filed a petition to revoke that probation in September 2025. Judge James Newman issued a warrant for her arrest on October 3, 2025, for a technical violation of those terms.

At her First Appearance hearing, Judge Patricia Cornell found probable cause to hold Olivares-Moran pending trial. Assistant State’s Attorney Lucas Szulczynski argued that she posed a real threat because she had already injured the victim with a knife during her probation. Assistant Public Defender Gregg Wolpoff disputed the victim’s account, stating that Olivares-Moran only pushed him away. He noted that the couple’s children are not infants and that the victim had asked prosecutors to release her so she could drive their daughter to enlist. The judge barred Olivares-Moran from contacting the victim and ordered her detained.

Olivares-Moran is scheduled to appear in court again on November 23 for a preliminary hearing.