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Man Pleads Not Guilty To Stabbing Wife

Bloomington Police | Missy Pendley
Nicole Elbert and Monroe Elbert.

A 50-year-old Bloomington man pleaded not guilty Friday to stabbing his wife to death last week as she was reportedly planning to leave him.

Monroe Elbert appeared in McLean County court for his arraignment. He pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of his wife, Nicole Elbert, 30. She was stabbed to death in their home on McLean Street near downtown Bloomington on Feb. 5.

Elbert allegedly told police he was arguing with his wife before grabbing a knife from the kitchen and confronting her in an upstairs bedroom. Monroe later called 911 to report he had just killed his wife, authorities said. Officers found him outside the home in blood-stained clothing and still holding the knife, prosecutors said.
 
Monroe Elbert also faces aggravated battery charges. Prosecutors say he abused his wife’s 8-year-old son in two separate incidents in 2017. The boy was removed from the home by the Department of Children and Family Services, prosecutors said.

Monroe allegedly stabbed his wife to death with a butcher knife as she packed her belongings and planned to leave their home. Relatives say she was planning to leave and go to a local domestic violence shelter.

During a vigil at a Bloomington park Thursday night, Nicole’s mother, Missy Pendley, said she regrets not acting sooner.

"I wish I called the cops when I told her I wanted to. I wish I would have called. It probably would have saved her life," she said.

Elbert has been appointed a public defender. He is being held at the McLean County jail on $5 million bond.

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Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
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