Crime & Safety

Regional Police Report: Woman Stabbed to Death, Buried in Park; Man Charged in Kidnapping

The following police-related items were pulled from area Patches. An arrest is merely an accusation, not evidence of a conviction.

Glen Ellyn

Woman Stabbed 34 Times, Buried in Park 

A judge on Wednesday ordered a 45-year-old homeless man to be held without bond in the gruesome stabbing death of a Wheaton woman.

Myron D. Ester was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Linda Valez, 33. Judge Robert Klemann made the ruling during a hearing at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton.

Ester appeared in person wearing a yellow jumpsuit. He alternated between looking down at the ground and back up again as Assistant State's Attorney Tim Diamond detailed Ester's relationship with Valez.

It was difficult at first to understand Diamond and Klemann as they spoke in the courtroom, which was filled with attorneys and family members for other cases. Gloria Araujo, Valez's mother, sat in the front row and said she wanted to hear what was being said.

"This man killed my daughter," Araujo said out loud. The courtroom quieted quickly as a deputy warned her that another "outburst" would get her removed from court.

Diamond said Ester stabbed Valez 34 times during an argument late Sept. 24 or early Sept. 25 at Panfish Park in Glen Ellyn. Ester initially denied knowing Valez's whereabouts but then changed his story when confronted with evidence, including footage of him and Valez on Sept. 24 leaving the Glen Ellyn McDonald's on the 400 block of Roosevelt Road.

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Mundelein

Man Charged in Kidnapping of 3-Year-Old

A 28-year-old Chicago man has been arrested on charges of aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping and unlawful restraint for an incident involving a 3-year-old girl on Monday in Mundelein, according to Daily Herald.

Jose E. Reyes, of the 4900 block of West North Avenue in Chicago, is accused of  grabbing a 3-year-old girl from the entrance of 555 Deepwoods Drive in Mundelein around 5:30 p.m. on Monday. 

The girl was with her older sister and her mother at the time of the abduction, according to the Daily Herald. 

The girl was returned to the area a short time later. The man had been seen earlier in the day handing out candy to children in the area and was reported to be in the area the day before as well, according to Mundelein police.

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The Lake County State's Attorney's Office announced Friday morning that a search team located a body Thursday night believed to be that of Nick Steward of Lake Villa.

A search team located the body at about 10:30 p.m. in a densely-wooded area about three quarters of a mile southeast of whereSteward's car was found Thursday. 

"The identity of the body and the cause of death are still pending," according to a State's Attorney's Office press release. "We have reason to believe that these are the remains of Nicholas Steward based on a number of personal items that were discovered on or near the body. We are awaiting official identification from the Lake County Coroner's Office as well as preliminary cause of death."

Steward's vehicle was located Thursday in the parking lot of an apartment complex on the 900 block of Westmoreland in Vernon Hills. The officer who found the car was in the area on an unrelated call.

Niles

School Bus Crashes into Animal Shelter

A driver lost control of her school bus Wednesday afternoon at Touhy and Harlem Avenues in Niles and crashed into Wright-Way Animal Shelter.

Both the driver, a 62-year-old woman, and a 22-year-old woman who was likely a driver-in-training were treated and released at a hospital, said Niles Police Department Sergeant Robert Tornabene. No one else was on the bus. 

Christy Anderson, one of the owners of Wright-Way, said there were 25 animals in the shelter today, mostly dogs. They were in cages, and Niles Fire Department personnel brought them outside the building, which may have structural damage.

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Patch reports on law enforcement activity, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime, or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.


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