14 years later, guilty plea in teen's killing

Nearly 14 years after Wood Dale teen Michael Bruce was fatally stabbed at a Memorial Day picnic in Hoffman Estates, his killer has met his fate.

Hugo Zarco, 33, was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for pleading guilty to first-degree murder.

Shortly after Zarco learned he was a suspect in the 1994 murder, he fled to Mexico to start a new life. He was found under a new name, teaching English in the Mexican state of Guanajuato with a wife and three children.

An anonymous phone call tipped off police to Zarco's whereabouts. He was picked up in August 2006 by Mexican authorities and transferred to Houston, where he was met by Hoffman Estates detectives.

Several people witnessed the altercation outside a Hoffman Estates home at 175 Berkeley Lane, where Zarco used a 6-inch kitchen knife to stab Bruce in the heart. Zarco believed the 16-year-old had made a remark about his sister, police said. Bruce died about an hour later.

"I know that I pleaded guilty today to first-degree murder, but it was an accident and I'm sorry," Zarco said Monday in court.

Bruce's family was relieved to be spared of a trial. Lawyers were about to begin jury selection when the plea deal was announced.

"The defense would try and make it seem like he deserved to be killed," said Bruce's mother, Jennifer Kover. "It's their job."

A former Conant High School student, Bruce's family had relocated to Wood Dale and he was to start his junior year at Fenton High School the next fall.

Zarco's murder conviction carried a sentence between 20 and 60 years in prison. He must serve 85 percent of his term, and received credit for the 562 days he spent in custody on $3 million bond.