Jury Convicts Man In 2022 Stabbing Death Of Grayslake Man

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A jury on Friday convicted a Round Lake Beach man of first-degree murder in connection with the 2022 stabbing death of a Grayslake man.

After a five-day trial that began on March 2, jurors found 33-year-old Jesus Vargas guilty in the killing of Brian Mahdee, 37, according to a news release from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.

During the trial, prosecutors called more than a dozen witnesses, including law enforcement officers, medical personnel and expert witnesses.

Vargas was originally charged in February 2022 after Round Lake Beach police and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force responded to the 2000 block of Apache Trail in Round Lake Beach . When officers arrived, they found Mahdee suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to the news release.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators testified that Vargas had non-life-threatening wounds to his arm when police arrived. An eyewitness told jurors Vargas inflicted those injuries on himself to make it appear he had acted in self-defense, prosecutors said.

The witness said Vargas attacked Mahdee while he was seated and using his phone. After the stabbing, Vargas attempted to clean the scene and asked others present not to call police, according to testimony.

During questioning by investigators, Vargas gave several inconsistent statements and claimed he had acted in self-defense, authorities said. Investigators testified that evidence indicated Vargas attempted to stage the scene to support that claim, while expert testimony showed DNA recovered from the weapon was inconsistent with his account, according to the news release.

Medical personnel determined Mahdee suffered more than 40 stab wounds, prosecutors said.

The defense called two witnesses after prosecutors rested their case, including Vargas, who testified on his own behalf. Prosecutors said his testimony conflicted with previous statements he had given.

“Immediately after this unprovoked attack, this offender began lying and attempting to hide his crime,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement. “Despite these efforts, investigators and prosecutors showed the jury the truth of this heinous attack.”