Cook County Sheriff's Department

Elaine Cook, 51, was charged with aggravated domestic battery for allegedly biting off part of her boyfriend's tongue during an argument on Valentine's Day.

An Illinois woman was arrested after allegedly biting off a large piece of her boyfriend's tongue following a domestic dispute on Valentine's Day. 

Police say Elaine Cook of Skokie, Ill., and her boyfriend of 10 months went out last week for Valentine's Day, returned to her apartment and got into a fight. 

Cook reportedly asked him to leave her apartment, but he wanted to end the argument.

"He told her they should stop fighting and went to kiss her," Assistant State's Attorney Eve Reilly told the Chicago Sun-Times, "and she bit off a large portion of his tongue."

Reilly said Cook's boyfriend ran to the sink bleeding. Cook followed him and threw the tongue on the counter. He put the piece into a bag of ice, and then he and Cook's roommate called 911.

The boyfriend was rushed to Evanston Hospital, Reilly said, but doctors could not reattach the tongue because of inadequate blood supply, the Sun-Times reported.

In the days following the maiming, the 47-year-old boyfriend, who asked not to be identified, said he was in a lot of pain. 

“Obviously, talking is not the best thing to do right now,” the man told the Sun-Times. “[But] at least I can talk. It’s just sad. The whole thing."

Court records show Cook was arrested Friday, and Cook County Judge Israel Desierto ordered her to be held Sunday in lieu of $100,000 bail. 

Her boyfriend, who said he has "a lot of mixed feelings," said he didn't want to see Cook's life ruined by going to jail. 

"It makes me sick to my stomach that she's sitting in jail right now, but it's just out of my hands," said the man. "I have to focus on getting better now."

Cook is due back in court on Wednesday.