A migrant in Illinois who was in the country illegally stabbed his wife to death, nearly decapitating her in front of one of their daughters, according to authorities.
Baltazar Perez-Estrada, 32, attacked Maricela Simon Franco after the couple got into an argument on Sunday when the husband discovered she had a boyfriend, prosecutors said, according to reports.
He allegedly knifed his 26-year-old bride dozens of times in her head, body, hands and neck, nearly slicing off her head, prosecutors said, Fox 32 reported.
“The extremely violent end to a young mother’s life is something that should touch us all,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement, the station reported.
Following the rampage, the spurned hubby walked into the Carol Stream police station on Monday and allegedly admitted to a social services worker that he killed his wife, the Daily Herald reported, citing a petition for pretrial detention.
He was arrested and charged with murder.
He allegedly told the worker that he learned she had a boyfriend before the fatal fight broke out.
One of Perez-Estrada’s daughters walked into the bedroom where the argument was happening and saw her father “hitting” her mother with a knife, the petition states, according to the Herald.
The victim’s uncle told authorities that she was planning on dumping Perez-Estrada after nine years of marriage before she was killed, according to the petition.
Perez-Estrada illegally entered the US from the southern border last month, but was released and given a future court date, Fox 32 reported. He previously was living in Mexico.
“Domestic violence continues to be a scourge on society, claiming more than ten million victims a year in some form or fashion,” Berlin, the state’s attorney said, per reports.
“In this case, the sad reality is, Maricela’s life has been reduced to a statistic of domestic violence due to the alleged actions of her husband, Baltazar Perez-Estrada.”
