Bail revoked in fatal Naperville bar stabbing

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Daniel Olaska / photo from DuPage County Sheriff’s office

Minutes before he fatally stabbed Shaun Wild in a Naperville nightclub, a belligerent Daniel Olaska threatened another patron with the same knife, DuPage County prosecutors said, arguing Olaska is too dangerous to release from jail.

“Anyone who gets in his way will be in danger,” Assistant State’s Attorney Demetri Demopoulos said Friday as he asked a judge to revoke Olaska’s $3 million bail.

Judge Kathryn Creswell agreed, ordering the 27-year-old Naperville man to remain behind bars until he stands trial for Wild’s Feb. 4 death.

“There is no condition or combination of conditions…that would ensure the safety of the public,” Creswell said as she ordered him jailed.

The 24-year-old Wild, a popular second-grade teacher at Spring Brook School in Naperville, was stabbed to death when he tried to defuse an argument between a friend and Olaska at Frankie’s Blue Room, prosecutors said.

Olaska also is charged with stabbing William Hayes, a friend of Wild’s, and bouncer Rafael Castenada, though both men survived.

Wild’s mother said she’s pleased Olaska won’t be released on bail.

“We’re very happy about the outcome,” Jami Wild said after the hearing, which was packed with relatives of both Wild and Olaska.

Prosecutors disclosed new details about the 12:45 a.m. stabbings in the popular nightspot, including alleging that Olaska threatened another man in the bar with a knife about 20 minutes earlier.

Olaska followed the man off the dance floor after both had danced with the same woman, then pulled out a folding knife and flashed the five-inch-long blade at him, Demopoulos said.

“I’ll take care of this,” Olaska told the man, Demopoulos said.

Earlier, Olaska harassed and followed two women, then cursed and yelled at another woman in the nightclub, he said.

“He was acting belligerently,” Demopoulos said. “By all accounts, the defendant was looking for trouble.”

Just before the stabbing, Olaska exchanged words with Hayes, hassling the stocky North Central College football player about the tight shirt he was wearing, Demopoulos said.

Hayes teased Olaska for drinking beer from a wine glass, authorities have said.

Olaska’s attorney argued video shot by a security camera shows Olaska was sitting at a table when Hayes, Wild and another man come over to him.

“He was not the aggressor,” defense attorney Brian Telander contended, saying he was “disappointed” that Olaska must remain jailed until his murder trial.

But prosecutors said the video shows Hayes and Olaska later shook hands. Olaska, though, then sipped his drink before he reached across the table and plunged his knife into Hayes’ chest, Demopoulos said.

The video shows Olaska briefly brandishing the knife before he walks away, Demopoulos said.

“He’s taunting Willie with the knife he just used to stab him,” Demopoulos said.

Wild grabbed Olaska’s shoulder to stop him, but Olaska spun around and jabbed the knife into Wild’s chest, Demopoulos said. Castenada was cut when he tried to disarm Olaska, who tried to escape by falling to the floor and screaming that he had been stabbed, prosecutors said.

Wild’s relatives are touched by the donations pouring into memorial funds established at his Wisconsin high school and at North Central College, his alma mater.

A flood of colorful, handmade cards and letters sent by his young students have helped the family, Jami Wild said.

“He affected so many people just by his smile, his positive attitude, his words of encouragement,” she said.

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