Man Pleads Not Guilty In Murder Of Pregnant Downers Grove Woman

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Nedas Revuckas entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday to first degree murder charges in the stabbing death of pregnant Downers Grove mom Eliza Morales, 30.

Revuckas has been in custody at DuPage County Jail since the Jan. 26, the night of the attack. Prosecutors say he stabbed Morales 70 times, set fire to her house and stabbed the family's dog between its eyes because he was unhappy with a truck he bought from Morales and her husband on Facebook Marketplace.

On Jan. 29, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin announced he would seek a "brutal and heinous" sentence enhancement for Revuckas. He called the murder a "horrific act of violence."

The next day, Revuckas was hospitalized in critical condition after he was found with "apparent self-inflicted injuries" in his housing area in DuPage County Jail. He was released from the hospital and returned to the jail that Sunday.

Per court documents from Tuesday's hearing, Revuckas's ongoing detention is necessary "to avoid a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community, based on the specific articulable facts of the case, or to prevent the defendant's willful flight from prosecution."

A GoFundMe was started to support Morales's husband and their two-year old daughter. As of March 4, the GoFundMe had raised more than $160,000.