Life Sentence Affirmed For Man Convicted Of Panfish Park Stabbing

GLEN ELLYN, IL — An appellate court affirmed a first-degree murder conviction and a sentence of life without parole for Myron Ester, who was found guilty in 2019 of fatally stabbing Linda Valez, 33, and burying her in a shallow grave in Panfish Park in 2013.

Ester recently appealed the verdict and sentence, alleging that the trial court neglected to question two jurors during his seven-day trial in 2019. After its recent affirmation the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois wrote that the “[d]efendant admitted he deliberately stabbed Valez four or five times, in the side." They added, "This testimony alone proved that defendant intentionally performed acts that he knew created a strong probability of bodily harm to Valez.”

Valez was reported missing Sept. 25, 2013. Three days later, police officers located Valez's body in a makeshift grave in Panfish Park. Police say Ester and Valez got into an argument Sept. 24 while they were at the Glen Ellyn park. The argument escalated, at which point Ester stabbed Velez "numerous times" in her neck, head and torso, a news release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office said.

It was determined Valez had been stabbed 39 times.

“With the Appellate Court’s decision, there is no doubt whatsoever that on September 24, 2013, Myron Ester brutally murdered Linda Valez and in doing so, earned the sentence he so richly deserved, natural life in prison without the possibility of parole," said DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin in a news release.

Berlin added, "It is my sincerest hope that those who Linda left behind will find some solace in the fact that the man responsible for her death will never again walk free.”

Related:

Life Sentence For Man Who Murdered Wheaton Woman In Panfish Park

Linda Valez Stabbing Not Random Attack: Cops