Illegal immigrant guilty of Joliet murder
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January 17, 2009

By STEWART WARREN swarren@scn1.com
JOLIET -- A jury found Hugo Sanchez guilty Friday of the 2006 murder of a pregnant woman.

The illegal immigrant now could spend 20 to 60 years in prison.

Sanchez, 23, is from Michoacan, Mexico. He was arrested by Joliet police March 28, 2007, and charged with three counts of murder in the strangulation death of Regina De Los Santos, 23, of Joliet.

At the time of the killing, Sanchez lived with his teenage girlfriend and some relatives at 503 Kraker Ave., a house across the street from De Los Santos' dingy basement apartment -- really a kind of lower level rooming house where several people had bedrooms and shared a kitchen and bath -- in the small bungalow at 504 Kraker Ave.

De Los Santos, 23, was six months pregnant when she was stabbed multiple times and strangled Sept. 9, 2006.

Her husband found her partially clad body on their blood-stained bed when he returned from work around 2 a.m. the next day.

Although her handbag and some personal papers also were on the mattress, her wallet and money couldn't be found.

Five-day trial
Represented by Dan Kennedy and Stephen Whitmore, Sanchez's trial began Monday with jury selection. Closing arguments were heard Friday morning.
Will County Assistant State's Attorneys Mike Fitzgerald and Nicole Moore argued Sanchez knew the physical layout of the young woman's home and had the opportunity to commit the crime. His DNA was found under her fingernails, and witnesses saw scratches on Sanchez arms and face after the murder.

"Regina De Los Santos was the best witness in this case," Fitzgerald told the jury. "She gave you the evidence you need to convict him of this crime."

But Kennedy saw holes in the state's case.

Sanchez's finger and palm prints weren't found in the basement apartment, he argued.

And someone else could have committed the crime -- perhaps Pablo Miguel Alejandro, a young man who also lived in the home's basement.

On the night of the murder, he came home to pick up some cash and saw De Los Santos' bloody naked body on the bed, but did not call police, Kennedy said.

"He was there to get money -- (and) what did the victim's husband say was missing? Her wallet," Kennedy said.

Two hours' deliberation

In the end, the jury agreed with the state. After a little more than two hours of deliberation Friday, they returned the guilty verdict.

Sanchez's sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 27.


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