Crime & Safety
Arlington Heights Ax Murderer Gets Life Sentence for Killing Wife
Romanian-born Cristian Loga-Negru will be eligible for parole in 30 years. He was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in May.
An Arlington Heights man convicted of hunting down and killing his estranged wife with a hatchet was sentencd to life in prison by a Wisconsin judge Wednesday, according to The (Racine, WI) Journal Times.
Cristian Loga-Negru, who will not be eligible for parole for 30 years, pleaded no contest to first-degree intentional homicide in May for the brutal murder of Roxana Abrudan, 36, in 2014. At that time, the Romanian-born Loga-Negru, 40, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, which was rejected by Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkewicz in July.
Abrudan and Loga-Negru's brief marriage was a turbulent one, and Arlington Heights police were sent to the couple's home on domestic abuse calls at least three times. After separating, Abrudan filed a protective order against Loga-Negru.
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On Nov. 21, 2014, Loga-Negru attacked Abrudan and abducted her from the home in Mount Pleasant, WI, where she was hiding out. He then took her to a motel parking lot in town and used an ax to hack her in the head and face.
RELATED: Arlington Heights Man Jailed After Wife Killed With a Hatchet
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Michael Enz and his wife — the friends in Mount Pleasant who Abrudan was staying with when she was murdered — attended Wednesday's sentencing, the Journal Times reported. For more than an hour, Michael Enz talked about Loga-Negru's violent treatment of Abrudan and described the scene in front of his home on the night of the murder, according to the report:
“She was terrified [of Loga-Negru]. He beat her regularly, on several occasions unconscious. … In short, he was a monster. …
"We found hair, blood, chunks of scalp, and body parts in our front lawn that the murderer hacked off of our friend. It was a scene of carnage. The motto of the unit I served in while in the Army was ‘de oppresso liber,’ which means 'to free the oppressed.' Every day of my life I have to deal with the fact I was not able to do that for Roxana.”
RELATED: Arlington Heights Man Pleads No Contest in Hatchet Killing of Wife
In handing down Loga-Negru's sentence, Gasiorkewicz expressed his dismay that the justice system couldn't protect Abrudan and save her from such a violent end, according to the Chicago Tribune:
"What more can society do to protect a woman? She gets a restraining order, moves out of state and seeks comfort from others who want to protect her. You violated all of this, and she's dead at your hands."
But when deciding whether the convicted killer should be given a chance for parole, the judge tempered his judgment with mercy and the possibility of a second chance outside of prison for Loga-Negru, according to the Journal Times:
"You asked for hope. Your father asked for humanity. What hope did Roxana have? …
“As horrific as this has been for Roxana, as horrific as this has been for society, I cannot give up on hope.”
More via The (Racine, WI) Journal Times
Cristian Loga-Negru (photo via Patch archives)
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