Suburban Chicago man accused of killing wife with vacuum cord denied release: prosecutors

Editor’s note: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing.

VILLA PARK – A suburban Chicago man accused of strangling his estranged wife with a vacuum power cord will remain in custody until his next court date, a judge ruled Monday.

Brian Hernandez, 28, appeared in court on two counts of first-degree murder. He had been scheduled to appear Saturday, March 21, but the hearing was rescheduled at the request of a public defender.

Pictured is Brian Hernandez, 28. (DuPage County State's Attorney)

What we know:

The family of Estefania Abril-Hernandez reported her missing about 8 p.m. March 18, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Authorities began investigating, and at about 2:45 a.m. March 19, Illinois State Police stopped Abril-Hernandez’s vehicle on Interstate 80. Hernandez was allegedly driving the car.

Prosecutors said Hernandez was in possession of Abril-Hernandez’s cellphone and was taken into custody.

Investigators later went to the couple’s former residence in Villa Park. At about 3:49 a.m. March 19, authorities entered through an unlocked window and found Abril-Hernandez dead on a bed in a second-floor bedroom, with a vacuum power cord wrapped tightly around her neck, prosecutors said.

Hernandez and Abril-Hernandez had gone to the home March 18 to clean and retrieve belongings ahead of a foreclosure auction scheduled for the following day.

Prosecutors said the couple argued and the dispute became physical, with Hernandez allegedly strangling Abril-Hernandez and wrapping the cord around her neck more than nine times.

Afterward, Hernandez fled, authorities said.

Investigators also found text messages Hernandez sent to another person, including: "Plesae call me I have something to confess please" and "I’m pretty sure estefania is dead," according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Hernandez was under an order of protection prohibiting contact with Abril-Hernandez and their son.

He was also on pretrial release and had an active failure-to-appear warrant in a criminal case in which he is accused of interfering with the reporting of domestic violence, authorities said.

What they're saying:

"I offer my sincerest condolences to Estefania’s surviving family and friends and wish them strength as they continue their lives without the love and support she once provided," Berlin said. "What makes this case particularly troubling is the fact despite having an active order of protection against him and being on pre-trial release for interfering with the reporting of domestic violence and then failing to appear in that case, Mr. Hernandez allegedly thumbed his nose at the law, and violently murdered his wife. Public safety is my office’s top priority. The fact that Mr. Hernandez was charged with interfering with reporting of domestic violence, a non-detainable offense, and released pre-trial, illustrates the need to strengthen the State’s Safe-T-Act to allow a judge the opportunity to detain an individual based on the facts and circumstances of each particular defendant’s case…," said DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin.

What's next:

Hernandez is scheduled to return to court April 6.