RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- The husband of a woman apparently bludgeoned to death Wednesday in River Forest was charged Friday with first-degree murder.

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Images: Woman Beaten To Death With Hammer

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James Pender, 53, was apprehended shortly after the assault and taken into custody.

Therese Pender, 41, was killed Wednesday, just up the street from an area police department.

Therese Pender had been walking home from a train station at about 6 p.m. when she had a verbal altercation with a man and was bludgeoned with a hammer near Lake Street and Park Avenue in the western suburb, River Forest Police Chief Nicholas Weiss said.

When officers arrived about a minute later, the woman was lying semiconscious on the sidewalk bleeding, according to police. Witnesses said they saw a man fleeing the scene, and officers apprehended James Pender without incident at railroad tracks about a block away, NBC5's Kim Vatis reported.

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Police Suspect Husband In Death

Police said James Pender hit his ex-wife in the back of the head four to five times and was carrying a briefcase with train schedules, a chisel, a large knife, a ski mask, and a change of pants.

Police said a hammer was also recovered from crime scene. A medical examiner's office spokeswoman said that according to a police report, the woman had been bludgeoned with a hammer.

Therese Pender was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Police said Therese Pender recently moved to River Forest after divorcing her husband. She filed for divorce on Dec. 17, 2004, and received an order of protection against James Pender, according to court records. The records indicated that in 2002, she said her husband had threatened to kill her if she filed for an order of protection.

"On January 13, 2005, Therese Pender reported to us that she had an order of protection, and that she had temporarily moved to River Forest and asked for an extra watch at her address through the weekend," a police spokesman said. "This information was placed in our log book and read at roll call. However, we have checked our records, and we were never called or summoned to her address in River Forest or had any other contact with her."

Family members said the two had been married several years, but things had broken down between the husband and wife.

"I guess he'd been watching her get off the train at the Metra, and he's been following her home," a family member said. "And he called up, he made a call to family members, saying that if he doesn't get back with her, that he's going to ... something bad's going to happen."

Pender Had History Of Failed Marriages

When the couple was together, they lived in the 7100 block of West Gunnison Street in Harwood Heights, court filings said.

James Pender had been married a total of four times, included his most recent marriage to the homicide victim. An attorney who represented one of Pender's ex-wives said she was stalked by the now-accused killer during the divorce.

Attorney Louis Prempas said Pender was dangerous, but very charming.

"It's like 'Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,'" Prempas said. "(He is) the kind of guy that just gets in to somebody, and they almost feel like they have to be with him. It's a psychological thing."

Prempas' client also obtained a restraining order against Pender.

The woman's father, Mike Marchitto, said it didn't stop Pender from setting fire to his daughter's home. It happened twice, Marchitto said.

"I would wake up after dreaming how to dispose of this guy, because he was really persecuting my daughter, he said.

Another of Pender's ex-wives said he pushed her and squeezed her face. The claims are similar to those made by Therese Pender.

Marchitto said he is not surprised by the slain woman's complaints. He said his daughter was treated the same way.

"Any dress or coat that (Pender) didn't like, he would take away from her. He wanted to control her money," he said.

This is the first homicide this year in River Forest.