Valdez killed and decapitated his aunt's boyfriend Díaz-Hernández as a Christmas gift for having him move out.
By H. Nelson Goodson
December 27, 2013
Chicago, IL - On Friday, Alexis Valdez, 18, was charged with murder in connection with the early Christmas Day discovery of a decapitated body of Silvestre Díaz-Hernández, 41. Police were called around 2:00 a.m. to a Belmont Gardens neighborhood apartment where Díaz-Hernández was found in the basement at his apartment located in the 2500 block of North Kildare Ave.
Valdez within minutes was taken into custdy near the apartment without incident and charged with first-degree murder. Police recovered a knife believed to have been used by Valdez to murder and decapitate Díaz-Hernández, who was from Guerrero, Mexico.
Valdez admitted to killing his aunt's boyfriend after she had told him to move out of their apartment. He failed to stay in school, find a job and contribute to the household needs.
Both Valdez and Díaz-Hernández after drinking on Christmas Eve and heading out to get more alcohol to drink, Valdez planned to kill Díaz-Hernández while his aunt was attending another Christmas party.
When they returned to the apartment, Valdez grabbed a hammer from the porch where he hid it and fatally hit Díaz-Hernández in the head multiple times. Valdez then played loud music to hide the noise as he decapitated his victim's head, cut off his ears, nose and mouth, including his arms, legs and only leaving the torso. Valdez also forcibly pulled out the victim's eyeballs with his bare fingers.
Valdez then took the severe head, nose, ears, mouth, eyeballs and placed them in his aunt's bed as a Christmas present, according to the criminal complaint.
Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Valdez held without bail. Valdez murder and admission to brutally killing his aunt's boyfriend and then dismembering the body is the most gruesome case recorded in Cook County's history.
Cook County assistant prosecutor Kingsley Sawyers says, Valdez after the murder got tired and called 911 to report a dead body, when the 911 operator asked, if he tried CPR, Valdez laughed and told the operator, Díaz-Hernández had been decapitated.
Valdez also admitted, that if his aunt would have come home and found the severe head, he would have also killed her, according to Sawyers.
Díaz-Hernández is survived by a 17-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son and four step children.
