Inset: Brian C. Hernandez (DuPage County Sheriff's Office). Background: The residential area where Hernandez allegedly killed his wife in Villa Park, Ill. (Google Maps).
An Illinois man is behind bars after strangling his estranged wife to death with a vacuum cleaner cord during an argument, according to law enforcement in the Land of Lincoln.
Brian Collin Hernandez, 28, stands accused of two counts of murder in the first degree, according to a press release issued by the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. He is also charged with one count each of disorderly conduct and interfering with reporting domestic violence.
The underlying incident occurred last week and took the life of 24-year-old Estefania Abril-Hernandez.
On March 18, Abril-Hernandez was reported missing by her family, authorities said, according to the prosecutor's office.
On March 19, Illinois State Police troopers spotted the missing woman's vehicle driving along Interstate 80 and pulled the car over. Behind the wheel was her husband, according to the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. The defendant also allegedly had his wife's cellphone in his possession.
The defendant was then taken into custody, authorities said. After that, investigators made their way to the victim's since-abandoned former residence on the 100 block of 1S Ingersoll Road in Villa Park, an unincorporated village in the greater Chicago area.
The grim discovery came minutes before 4 a.m.
"[A]fter gaining access to the home through an unlocked window, authorities found Estefania deceased, lying on a bed in a second-floor bedroom with a vacuum power cord wrapped tightly around her neck," the press release reads.
Investigators believe the couple traveled to the property together the day Abril-Hernandez was reported missing in order to "clean up and retrieve personal items before the foreclosure auction scheduled for the next day" when tragedy struck.
"[W]hile the couple was at the home, they began to argue," the press release goes on. "It is further alleged that the argument turned physical leading Hernandez to strangle Estefania with a vacuum power cord which he wrapped around her neck more than nine times. It is alleged that after the murder, Hernandez fled the scene."
During the ensuing investigation, authorities allegedly found telltale text messages the defendant sent to an unidentified third party which read: "Hey [redacted] please call me I have something to confess please" and "I'm pretty sure estefania is dead."
Prosecutors noted a recent criminal record for the defendant, including an order of protection against him in a case that prohibits contact with Estefania and the couple's son. In that case, Hernandez allegedly interfered with the victim's attempt to report an act of domestic violence. Additionally, the defendant is on pretrial release and has an active failure-to-appear warrant in that case.
"I offer my sincerest condolences to Estefania's surviving family and friends and wish them strength as they continue their lives without the love and support she once provided," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "What makes this case particularly troubling is the fact despite having an active order of protection against him and being on pretrial release for interfering with the reporting of domestic violence and then failing to appear in that case, Mr. Hernandez allegedly thumbed his nose at the law, and violently murdered his wife. Public safety is my office's top priority."
The defendant is currently being detained in the DuPage County Jail without bond after a judge denied pretrial release on Monday.
He is next slated to appear in court on April 6.