Illegal immigrant, 33, is accused of stabbing his wife to death and trying to decapitate her in front of their children in Chicago apartment, just two weeks after family crossed border into US

An illegal immigrant was accused of stabbing his wife to death in a Chicago area apartment and trying to decapitate her in front of their daughters.

Baltazar Perez-Estrada, 33, turned himself into the Carol Stream Police Department on Monday around 11.30am and confessed that he ‘allegedly stabbed his wife,’ Maricela Simon Franco, 26, according to court records. 

Around 10pm Sunday, the couple had an argument at their home  in the Carol Stream apartment complex, that soon turned physical after Baltazar discovered that his wife had a boyfriend, prosecutors said. 

He proceeded to stab Maricela dozens of times in her neck, head, torso and hands before he attempted to decapitate her head while their two children were present, according to prosecutors.

‘In this case, the sad reality is, Maricela’s life has been reduced to a statistic of domestic violence due to the alleged actions of her husband, Baltazar Perez-Estrada,’ the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said. 

‘This brutal, senseless act of violence alleged against Mr. Perez-Estrada will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’ 

Authorities later found out that Baltazar and his family had just entered the US illegally about two weeks before he allegedly took his wife’s life. 

The couple’s two young daughters later told police that during the gruesome attack, they saw their father ‘hitting’ their mother with a knife.

A medical examiner later found  the husband tried to decapitate Maricela’s head. Maricela was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the girls told the police her father got rid of the knife in a nearby pond, documents revealed. 

A petition for pretrial detention, reviewed by the Daily Herald, revealed that before Baltazar turned himself into police, he confided in his brother about what he did. 

The petition said he asked his brother to pick him and the kids up at the Glenside Library, where they were found covered in mud. 

His brother then bought them new clothes and took them to his home so they could clean up before Baltazar told his brother what happened a night earlier. He then turned himself in to police. 

According to the petition, before the alleged murder, Baltazar’s brother said Maricela stopped by his apartment and said she planned on leaving her husband. 

A previous police report revealed officers were called to the couple’s house on March 17 for a domestic incident, but no criminal charges were filed. 

‘First and foremost, I offer my sincerest condolences to Maricela’s surviving family and friends on their loss and wish them strength as they continue their lives without the love and support provided by Maricela,’  DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. 

‘The extremely violent end to a young mother’s life is something that should touch us all. Domestic violence continues to be a scourge on society, claiming more than ten million victims a year in some form or fashion.’ 

Baltazar faces five counts of first-degree murder and he was charged by the US government with alien inadmissibility. 

On Thursday, a DuPage County judge decided to deny pre-trial release for Baltazar. 

He is expected in court on April 25 for arraignment and his immigration charges will be dealt with during a separate trial. 

‘The men and women of the Carol Stream Police Department stand by the family and friends of Maricela Simon Franco as they mourn this tragic loss,’ Carol Stream Chief of Police Don Cummings said. 

‘Not only has this senseless and brutal act removed Maricela from their lives, but it has robbed two young children of their mother.’