Friends, family call for harsher charges in Glenview teen's killing

Clutching a large picture frame with a photograph of her slain son, Marcela Fierros and a group of about 40 supporters gathered in front of the Glenview Municipal Center Sunday evening demanding more severe charges against the teen accused of killing him.

With a speaker repeating the refrain, "All we want is justice," supporters held aloft signs in English and Spanish calling for justice for Elias Valdez, the 15-year-old Glenbrook South High School student stabbed to death earlier this month.

One sign summed up the feeling of the crowd - "Murderer Deserves 1st Degree Murder Charge!"

Elias was found Aug. 5 lying in a grassy area on the 1200 block of Greenwood Road in Glenview, police said. He was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he died in surgery.

A 16-year-old boy surrendered to Glenview police Aug. 17. He is charged with second-degree murder and faces a Sept. 9 court hearing. In the meantime, he has been released on electronic home monitoring.

Family and friends at Sunday's rally objected to both the second-degree murder charge and the fact the boy is allowed to be held at home.

"I want the kid who killed my brother to go to jail and not to be on home arrest," said Elias' 13-year-old sister, Paola Valdez.

Fierros said through a translator that she rejects any claim that Elias was killed in self- defense. She said Elias never carried any weapons.

"I just want justice for Elias," added Cristal Flores, one of the organizers of the event and the parent of a Glenbrook South student. "It could have been my child. It could have been anybody's child."

Also at the event was Oscar Ocampo, a friend and former neighbor of the Valdez family who, like Elias, was a wrestler at Glenbrook South.

"I'm pretty sure he was hoping to continue his wrestling career and wrestle for the varsity team," he said. "No kid deserves to die at a young age, no matter what."