Man charged in birthday party fatal stabbing held on $1.5M

A 37-year-old man whose roommate had invited people to their apartment to attend a birthday party is charged with killing one of their guests with a butcher knife Monday.
Adan Montano, of the 2900 block of West 63rd Street, was charged with first degree murder and was ordered held in lieu of $1.5 million bail in court.
Montano, who had moved into the apartment only days earlier, was in his bedroom during most of the evening while the party was going on
At about 9 p.m., Montano left his room and jointed the party and began acting "strange and belligerent" and began bothering the guests including the victim, Stephanie Serrano, 19.
Montano was warned to that if he wanted to remain at the party he needed to stop bothering the female guests including Serrano.
Montano continued to bother the female guests and at one point began brushing his teeth in front of the female guests using a household cleaning product.
After Montano refused to stop bothering the guests he was told to leave the party and to return to his bedroom. Montano became upset and when the person throwing the party turned away, Montano punched him in the back. The person throwing the party responded by punching Montano in the mouth.
About an hour later, as the party was breaking up Serrano, the person throwing the party and a female guest walked out to a porch.
Montano then came out of his room with a beer and a butcher knife and tried to stab them. When the person throwing the party and the female party-goer saw Montano with the knife they fled the porch and returned into the apartment.
But as Serrano tried to flee she fell to the ground and Montano pounced on her and began to "viciously attack her with the butcher knife as she screamed out for help" .
Montano stabbed her multiple times, including to her face, arm, hands, and the knife even penetrated her heart.
She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead there.
A few moments later he walked into a police station with a gash on his head claiming to have been jumped by gang members.
He asked for an ambulance. Police said he matched the description and was identified by witnesses.
Montano later admitted to police that he had attacked Serrano because he was mad because the people at the party had beat him earlier in the evening and that when he went to confront them about it they laughed at him

3rd person charged in May dismemberment slaying

A third person has been arrested and charged in connection with the slaying and decapitation of a West Side man in May.
Milton Miranda, who is believed to be the boyfriend  of a woman already charged in the slaying, was arrested in Morristown, N.J. and charged with first degree murder in the death of Jose Reyes in May.
Daisy Gutierrez, 19, had earlier been charged with first degree murder in connection with Reyes' death and her father Salvador Gutierrez, 56, was charged with concealing a homicide.
According to what Cook County prosecutors said after Daisy Gutierrez was arrested and charged in October, she and her boyfriend had lured Reyes to her Southwest Side home, in the 8300 block of South Scottsdale Avenue, where she led him to her bedroom and began to undress. The boyfriend then kicked in the door and attacked Reyes, slitting his throat and later decapitating him.
The boyfriend then dismembered Reyes' body and Salvador Gutierrez dug a hole in the backyard and buried the remains.
Both Daisy Gutierrez and her father were arrested in October, but the boyfriend fled to New Jersey and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Miranda was taken into custody by Chicago police on Saturday.
Gutierrez has two children, ages 2 and 1, with Reyes' brother.
Reyes, of the 1400 block of North Harding Avenue in Humboldt Park, had been reported missing soon after he had gone to see Gutierrez and his family had peppered his neighborhood with fliers asking for information on the Honduran native's disappearance.
Reyes, whose age was listed by authorities as 28, though his family said he was 30, moved to Chicago five years ago in hopes of improving his life.
The oldest of four children, Reyes worked in construction and sent most of his money back home to Tegucigalpa, where he has family, his brother Jorge Moncada Ramos said. Reyes had planned to return to Honduras to take care of his ill sister.

Defendant offered dismemberment as a 'present'

An 18-year-old man who was asked to move out of the Northwest Side apartment he shared with his aunt and her boyfriend killed the older man with a hammer, then cut off the man's head, ears and nose and left them on his aunt's bed "as a present" .
Police arrested a blood-covered Alexis Valdez after he dismembered Silvestre Diaz-Hernandez, 41, became exhausted and called 911 to report there was a dead body in their Belmont Gardens basement apartment.
When the 911 dispatcher asked Valdez if he had performed CPR, the young man laughed and said Diaz-Hernandez had been decapitated
Valdez had moved into the basement apartment in the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue about six months ago with the understanding that he would go to school, work and help pay bills, Sawyers said. But Valdez did not help with expenses, even when he was working, which led to ongoing tension, he said.
Eventually, Valdez was told he had to move out.
On Christmas Eve, Valdez was home drinking while his aunt was at a party and Diaz-Hernandez was visiting family members. Diaz-Hernandez came home to find there was no beer left in the house and headed out with Valdez to a nearby drugstore to pick some up.
Valdez hid a hammer by the apartment's door before leaving, Sawyers said. The store turned out to be closed. When the two men returned home, Valdez let Diaz-Hernandez enter first, then picked up the hammer and struck him in the back of the head.
Diaz-Hernandez fell to the floor, and Valdez struck him up to 10 more times. Valdez then covered the windows, played loud music and began cutting apart the man's body.
He used a butcher knife to cut off Diaz-Hernandez's ears, nose and mouth, and also cut off the man's head and his left arm.
Valdez then put the head, ears and nose on his aunt's bed "as he, quote, 'Wanted to leave his aunt a present," .
According to an arrest report, police who responded to the home after Valdez called 911 on Christmas Day found him sitting in the front yard with an iPad in his hands.
When one officer asked, "What's going on?" Valdez replied, "Shouldn't you arrest me before you ask me questions?"
The officer then asked why he should arrest Valdez. "Because I just killed a man, and he's in the basement," Valdez said, before slamming the iPad to the ground, cracking its screen.
Valdez allegedly told police he would have killed his aunt, too, if she had come home and seen the body.

No bail for man charged in Rogers Park attack that blinded woman

A judge denied bail today for a 23-year-old man accused of a knife attack in the Rogers Park neighborhood that blinded a woman Thursday morning.
Basil Mohandie appeared before Judge Laura Marie Sullivan, who denied bail for Mohanie, charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
The woman was stabbed in the eyes and face, and the tendons in both wrists were cut as well as a major artery in her leg, police said. She was attacked around 6:20 a.m. Thursday in the 1600 block of West Touhy Avenue.
Police said Mohandie, of the 6900 block of West Nelson Street, and the victim had met to talk Thursday morning.
The woman was listed in serious condition at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston after the attack.

Bail set at $750K for woman charged in fatal stabbing of boyfriend

A woman arrested last year for allegedly stabbing a woman at a Chuck E. Cheese is now facing murder charges in the death of her boyfriend during a fight over the weekend.
Shardonnae Pruitt, 20, of the 9600 block of South Merrion Avenue, was arrested Sunday evening after she stabbed Kahlin Holloway, 22, in the chest with a butcher knife.

Bail was set at $750,000 for Pruitt who was charged with first degree murder.
Holloway had kicked in the door of her home around 6 p.m. and was arguing with another person when Pruitt reached from behind and stabbed himm.
Holloway, of the 9600 block of South Euclid Avenue,  was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. Sunday at Advocate Trinity Hospital.
Pruitt had been working at a Chuck E. Cheese's at 5030 S. Kedzie Ave. in September of 2012 when she stabbed a customer after a fight.  The customer was with a 40-year-old man who became angry that Pruitt had taken away his salad plate. He threw his utensils on the floor and demanded to see the manager.
Pruitt returned with the manager, and the man asked to make a formal complaint against Pruitt. When the manager stepped away, Pruitt threatened the 40-year-old, pulled out the box cutter and stabbed the woman

Man dies in fatal domestic-related stabbing on SE side

A 22-year-old man was fatally stabbed this evening in the Jeffrey Manor neighborhood on the southeast side.
The incident happened on the 9600 block of South Merrion Avenue.
The man, Kahlin Holloway, was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. at Advocate Trinity Hospital. He lived in the 9600 block of South Euclid Avenue.
Offficials said the man sustained a fatal stab wound in a domestic-related incident. Someone drove him to Little Company of Mary Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The woman who stabbed him is in custody and being questioned.

Ex-boyfriend charged with woman's Thanksgiving slaying

A mother of three on her way to work Thanksgiving Day was stabbed to death outside her Northwest Side home by her jealous ex-boyfriend, Cook County prosecutors said Thursday.
Maria Gonzalez, 39, had just left her apartment about 5 a.m. Nov. 28 and was about to get into her car when she was attacked by Alberto Gaytan, 42, with whom she had a 4-year-old daughter, said Assistant State's Attorney Maura White.
After leaving Gaytan about three months ago, Gonzalez hadn't told him about her new address on a quiet block in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, White said.
Gaytan "had threatened to kill (Gonzalez) if she left him for someone else" .
Witnesses in the 4800 block of North Moody Avenue heard Gonzalez scream for help after Gaytan threw Gonzalez to the ground, straddled her and stabbed her about 11 times. One wound to her neck was nearly deep enough to decapitate Gonzalez.
Witnesses saw Gaytan grab Gonzalez's purse and drive off in his red 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier. Police recovered the vehicle, and tests showed Gonzalez's blood was on the driver's-side door handle and window.
Soon after the attack, Gaytan was arrested at his home in the 3000 block of West Ainslie Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood. He denied knowing where his ex-girlfriend lived but had a card with her address written on the back.
Gaytan, a Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally, was wanted on an active immigration warrant. He had been deported in 2008.
He was held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the McHenry County Jail on that charge until the results of DNA testing on the blood were released. Gaytan was arrested by Chicago police at the jail Wednesday, the same day a Cook County judge signed a warrant for his arrest.

17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man shot in South Shore

In the South Shore neighborhood about 3:18 p.m., a 17-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man were each shot in the leg in the 2500 block of East 79th Street. Both were taken to South Shore Hospital. The two told investigators little, except that they realized they were shot after hearing gunfire and feeling pain.

39-year-old woman found dead with throat slashed in jefferson Park

Police have launched a homicide investigation after finding a 39-year-old woman dead in the Northwest Side's Jefferson Park neighborhood this morning.
About 5 a.m., officers found the woman with visible trauma to her body in the 4800 block of North Moody Avenue.
The woman was identified as Maria Gonzalez who lived on the block.
She was found with her throat slashed.
The woman had lived in a basement apartment for about a month and was on her way to Dunkin' Donuts to begin her shift this morning.
The suspect was about 5-feet-10 inches tall, 225 pounds, wearing a black hoodie, he had a mustache, a goatee and had a red jacket on, black sweat pants and white gym shoes.

Charges filed in Little Village stabbing death

A  19-year-old man has been charged in the stabbing death of a woman Wednesday in the Little Village neighborhood.
Aaron Mejia, 19, of the 2200 block of South Sacramento Avenue on the Southwest Side, was charged with murder.
Mejia and the victim, identified as 27-year-old Rosa Maria Perez, began arguing Wednesday at the Sacramento Avenue address and during the course of the argument, Mejia stabbed her. Mejia was arrested Saturday.
Police responded to a call of a person dead at the Sacramento address about 10 a.m. Wednesday and spoke with three people who found the body lying on the floor of a bedroom closet with blood smeared on her neck, hands, and on the nearby wall.
One of the three, Mejia's neighbor, told police that about midnight, Mejia showed up at his home in the 2500 block of North Spaulding Avenue, told him he was "involved in a domestic" with the victim, and that "something had happened".
Mejia remained at the house where he slept for several hours but he was gone by the time the neighbor had woken up in the morning.
Perez, also of the Sacramento address, was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:15 a.m.

Woman found stabbed to death in Little Village

A woman was found stabbed to death this morning at a home in the Little Village neighborhood on the West Side.
Officers responded to a call of an unresponsive woman at a house on the 2200 block of South Sacramento Avenue around 10 a.m.
The woman was later identified as Rosa Maria Perez, 27, of the Sacramento address, who was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:15 a.m.
The woman suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene

Man charged with murder in September stabbing

A 29-year-old Ida B. Wells / Darrow Homes resident is accused of stabbing a neighbor to death inside her apartment in September.
Chandus Ousley, of the 3500 S. Rhodes Avenue.
He’s accused of stabbing a 24-year-old woman to death, and she was found inside her apartment on the same block.

Southwest Side woman killed

Detectives launched a homicide investigation Sunday evening after a 31-year-old Southwest Side woman died of an apparent cut wound to the throat.
Police responding to a call for a well-being check found Lady Diana Sanabria unresponsive about 7:30 p.m., inside her apartment in the 4400 block of South Richmond Street, in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
She was declared dead at 7:59 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Police said the killing may have been related to domestic dispute.

Charges filed after woman's body found in forest preserve

A  19-year-old Humboldt Park neighborhood man was charged Friday night with killing the mother of his child and hiding her body in a plastic container in a forest preserve in River Forest.
The victim was identified this morning as Jasmin Salas, 20, of the 800 block of North Richmond Street.
Justino Correa, of the 1000 block of North Richmond Street, was charged with first-degree murder and concealing a homicide.
Police officers responding to a battery report arrived at Norwegian-American Hospital Thursday night where they spoke with Correa who told them he’d suffered a cut to his right hand during domestic fight with the mother of his child.
Correa told officers that during the fight he killed her, placed her in a box, and put her in the forest preserve.
Correa was arrested at Norwegian-American Hospital Thursday at 7:55 p.m. It is his first arrest.
A Police News Affairs statement said the victim is his 20-year-old girlfriend.
An autopsy Friday by the medical examiner's office determined Salas died of multiple combined stab and incise wounds and her death was ruled a homicide.
The remains had been found at 8100 Chicago Avenue in River Forest Thursday night, about 10 p.m. Thursday

Charges filed in stabbing death of Edgewater-area woman

A 70-year-old woman slain at her Magnolia Glen neighborhood home has been identified and authorities charged a 63-year-old man with her death.
Marjorie G. Ivy, who a longtime friend says was known to many by her middle name, Gayle, was found dead in her apartment about 12:10 p.m. Wednesday after someone at her building called police to say he had not seen Ivy for a few days.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office today determined she died from multiple stab wounds and cuts in a homicide.
Mordecai Faskowitz, of the 1300 block of West Thorndale  was charged with first degree murder and is due in court Friday.
Officers who arrived at the three-floor apartment building in the 1300 block of West Thorndale Avenue were let into the apartment by the man who had called police, and found Ivy lying stabbed on the floor.
Faskowitz was inside at the time and had refused to let officers inside. Officers confronted him in the back of the apartment, and he refused to show officers his hands, the report stated.
Faskowitz refused several times to show his hands, one of the officers used a Taser to subdue him

Man charged in fatal North Center stabbing

A 25-year-old man has been charged this evening with fatally stabbing a man in the North Center neighborhood who was found on his front porch.
Christopher Shoji of the 2000 block of West Warner Avenue is charged with first-degree murder and a misdemeanor count of cannabis production.
He is charged with fatally stabbing Solomon Morales at Morales' home on the 4200 block of North Damen Avenue.
Morales, 24, was pronounced dead at 6:40 a.m. Tuesday at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center after he was found stabbed several times.
Police were called to the Damen Avenue home about 4:10 a.m. after Morales' mother discovered him on her front porch, stabbed in the left chest, left flank and stomach.
By the time police arrived, Morales was apparently too disoriented to give any description of his attacker, where the attack happened or what happened to leave him injured

Woman found slain, 1 held in Edgewater domestic incident

A woman believed to be in her late 60s or early 70s was found slain at her Magnolia Glen neighborhood home this afternoon on the North Side and a man is in custody.
At 12:10 p.m. police conducted a well-being check at an apartment in the 1300 block of West Thorndale Avenue and found the body of the woman with multiple stab wounds to her body

Police seek witnesses to fatal North Side stabbing

Police are trying to figure out how a North Center man ended up fatally stabbed on his front porch early this morning.
The 24-year-old man was declared dead at 6:40 a.m. at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center after he was found stabbed several times in the 4200 block of North Damen Avenue this morning.
He was identified as Solomon Morales of the Damen Avenue address where he was stabbed
 Police were called to the Damen Avenue home about 4:10 a.m. after the Morales' mother discovered him on her front porch, stabbed in the left chest, left flank and stomach.
By the time police arrived, Morales was apparently too disoriented to give any description of his attacker, where the attack happened or what happened to leave him injured

Man stabbed during fight along riverwalk downtown

A  man was stabbed along the riverwalk in downtown Chicago overnight after confronting two other men.
The man, 31, had approached the other two, both 23, around 10:45 p.m. Monday at the entrance of the riverwalk at 2 E. Wacker Drive. They started arguing, then fighting, and one of the 23-year-olds pulled a knife.
The man defended himself with the knife and cut the man in the chest and face.
The older man was taken in good condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He refused to cooperate with police and no charges have been filed

3rd person arrested in dismemberment slaying

A third person sought in the killing and dismemberment of a man at a Southwest Side home has been arrested in New Jersey.
Milton Miranda was booked into the Morris County, New Jersey, jail on Saturday. Miranda is wanted in Chicago on a murder warrant, according to Chicago Police.
The man is accused of attacking Jose Reyes with a pipe and an knife, then decapitating him, after Reyes was lured to the home by the suspect's girlfriend, Daisy Gutierrez.
Miranda, originally was taken into custody in Morris County, New Jersey, on an unrelated charge. Miranda is being held on an arrest warrant obtained by Chicago Police and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
Jealousy was the apparent motive. Reyes was the brother of Gutierrez's ex-boyfriend and had shown an interest in dating her.
After Reyes was killed, Gutierrez called her father and told him she had "fixed the problem" .
Then Gutierrez's new boyfriend dismembered the body, and her father spent three hours digging a hole in the family's backyard before placing the victim's body parts in plastic bags and burying them.
Reyes' remains were buried there for nearly five months until police obtained a search warrant and dug up the yard Friday.
The plot unfolded May 21, when Gutierrez and her boyfriend decided to lure Reyes to her home in the 8300 block of South Scottsdale Avenue. Gutierrez has two children — a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old — with Reyes' brother.
As part of the plan, Gutierrez told her family to leave the home, said prosecutors, who contend that she invited Reyes over while her boyfriend prepared to attack him.
Reyes had "expressed his own interest" in Gutierrez and had called her in the past.
When Reyes arrived, Gutierrez led him to her bedroom, where she began to undress. Then Gutierrez's boyfriend kicked in the door and attacked Reyes, slitting his throat and later decapitating him.
Afterward, Gutierrez called her father, who returned home and watched the boyfriend dismember the body. Salvador Gutierrez, who works as a busboy in a local restaurant, dug a hole in the backyard and buried the remains.
The next day, Daisy Gutierrez and her boyfriend left town.