Wheeling man stabbed at party dies, no charges expected
A 24-year-old Wheeling man died Sunday, two weeks after he was stabbed while hosting a party at his home, authorities say.
Rafeel Zacarias was pronounced dead while on life-support at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Wheeling Deputy Police Chief Todd Wolff said.
Zacarias and his 26-year-old brother were stabbed in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 22, police said. Wheeling detectives and the multijurisdictional Major Case Assistance Team closed the case several days later, after determining the 19-year-old Wheeling man who stabbed the brothers with a knife was acting in self-defense.
Zacarias' death will not change the outcome of the investigation, Wolff said.
"His claim of self-defense is what it is," Wolff said. "There is no other evidence we have at this time to charge him."
Zacarias was stabbed once in the head, police said. His brother, who also suffered a single stab wound, was released from the hospital the next day.
"I feel bad for the family, to lose someone so young," Wolff said.
The Cook County medical examiner's office performed an autopsy Monday that determined Zacarias died as a result of complications from a stab wound.