Sesser Woman Survives Brutal Knife Attack
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Officers from the Illinois State Police District 13 command in Du Quoin have joined Franklin County authorities in investigating the brutal 2:05 p.m. stabbing of a Sesser woman Monday. The victim, Susan Zettler, 59, is now in stable condition in a St. Louis hospital. She is said to have relatives from the Du Quoin area.
Two Sesser teenagers are now in custody and were being interviewed by investigators late Monday. The Franklin County State's Attorney's office expects to file charges of attempted murder and home invasion.
Antonio Smith, 19, and Jacob Bohannon, 17, Sesser residents, were located and arrested in Mount Vernon, Franklin County State's Attorney Tom Dinn said late Monday.
The emergency call first came in as a fire call, Sesser authorities say. It quickly turned into an emergency medical call.
Dinn said Sesser Police Chief Rob Barrett, a paramedic, in large part saved the woman's life. Barrett responded to the call.
A Life Flight helicopter transferred the woman to St. Louis.
Sesser authorities said they responded to the home on South Cockrum Street shortly after 2 p.m. The home is located south of the business district. Reports differ. One report says they found a woman who had been seriously injured by knife cuts at the home. Another report says the woman had made it to a neighbor's house where the emergency call was placed.
Police were given a description of the car and put out a statewide ISPERN alert. Police declined to say if the vehicle had been stolen from the woman's home. A 10 a.m. press conference was schedule today at the office of State's Attorney Dinn.
Illinois State Police at Du Quoin told the Du Quoin Evening Call that a press release from their office would be forthcoming, as well.