Bail $10 million in Des Plaines area murder of 45-year-old woman

Bail was set at $10 million Tuesday for a man who authorities say stabbed his wife to death early Monday in their mobile home near Des Plaines.

Authorities say 45-year-old Alicia Ramirez was stabbed 35 times, including a slashed aorta and punctured lungs.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kay Hanlon set bail for Heriberto Ramirez, 48, who was charged with first-degree murder and could face 20 to 60 years in prison.

The two began arguing at about 5:30 a.m. in their home in the 400 block of West Touhy Avenue, in the Touhy Mobile Home Park, in unincorporated Cook County, authorities said.

The couple's 9-year-old daughter, who was in her bedroom at the time, heard her mother scream as her father dragged Alicia Ramirez into the bathroom, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy during a bond hearing Tuesday.

The 9-year-old dialed 911 and told the operator “that her daddy was beating her mommy,” McCarthy said. Heriberto Ramirez came into the girl's bedroom, hung up the phone and returned to the bathroom, after which the girl no longer heard her mother's screams, McCarthy said.

Cook County sheriff's police arrived at the home shortly thereafter and inquired if anything was wrong. The defendant said no, at which time the 9-year-old entered the living room and told police her mother was in the bathroom, McCarthy said.

Police found Alicia Ramirez deceased on the bathroom floor authorities said. She was pronounced dead at 10:15 a.m. at the mobile home park, said a spokesman from the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The medical examiner ruled Alicia Ramirez's death a homicide, citing “multiple stab and incised wounds” as the cause. The victim also suffered facial bruises and a black eye along with wounds to her chest, abdomen, neck, shoulders, legs arms and wrist, some of which appeared to be defensive in nature, McCarthy said.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the child.

There was no sign of a crime scene Tuesday afternoon at the mobile home park where records show the couple has lived since 2005. The sheriff's office has responded to the home twice for arguments between the couple, police said. Police responded to a domestic battery call there in July 2010, McCarthy said. A family member witnessed the defendant trying to strangle the victim, but the victim did not want to press charges, McCarthy said, adding that police responded to a domestic disturbance call at that address in 2007, but there is no record of an arrest.

Ramirez next appears in court on March 8.