Murder Charges Filed In Des Plaines Man's Death

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL — A Des Plaines man is being accused of the fatal stabbing of his wife's lover, Dionicio Hernandez, 45, also of Des Plaines, whose body was discovered earlier this week in Elk Grove Village. Jonas Villafuerte Vega, 39, of the 400 block of Touhy Avenue, Des Plaines, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder, according to the Elk Grove Village Police Department.

Vega received a $2 million bond during a Friday hearing and his next court date is set for June 26.

According to the Cook County State Attorney's Office, Hernandez worked at a factory with Vega's wife of 20 years, and the two began an extra-marital relations about a month ago. Prosecutors say Vega found out about the affair and asked Hernandez to end it, following a confrontation on June 5.

Fast-forward to the early morning hours of Tuesday, Vega's car was captured on surveillance cameras in the area of Hernandez's work and then parking at a nearby lot shortly before 5 a.m. The video shows Vega lying in wait for Hernandez's arrival for his work shift at the rear entrance to the factory.

Hernandez's vehicle can be seen entering the employer's parking lot at 5:05 a.m. Within 18 seconds of Hernandez exiting his vehicle, Vega can be seen running toward him and then both moved out of the view of the camera, according to prosecutors.

During the two minutes that Vega moved out of the camera’s view, he brutally stabbed an unarmed Hernandez approximately 20 times about the body with a knife. Hernandez's body was discovered at around 8:06 a.m. Tuesday in a drainage ditch behind a business in the 1400 block of Greenleaf Avenue. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death as a homicide caused by multiple stab wounds.

The Elk Grove Village Police Department, along with investigators and forensic technicians from the northwest suburban Major Case Assistance Team, have been investigating the case.

At the time of this defense, Vega was on bond for a pending aggravated battery with a deadly weapon case out of DuPage County. Among the conditions of Vega’s bond for that case, was that he not possess any dangerous weapon.

In that case, on Sept. 9, 2019, Vega attacked another man who had been engaged in a relationship with his wife, according to prosecutors.

• Elk Grove Death Ruled Homicide: Police

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