Pretrial release denied for man charged with killing wife with vacuum cleaner cord

Pretrial release was denied Monday for a man accused of murdering his estranged wife by wrapping a vacuum cleaner cord around her neck at least nine times.

Brian C. Hernandez, 28, is facing two counts of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing Estefania Abril-Hernandez, 24.

Abril-Hernandez’s relatives reported her missing at 8 p.m. on March 18. Around 2:45 a.m. March 19, state police stopped her car on I-80.

Police said the car was being driven by Hernandez, and that he also had her cellphone, according to a news release from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

Abril-Hernandez was found in a bedroom at the couple’s vacant, former residence in the 1S100 block of Ingersoll Road near Villa Park.

Authorities say that the two had been at the residence March 18 to clean it and retrieve belongings before a foreclosure auction scheduled the next day.

DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden granted prosecutors’ request that Hernandez be held in jail while facing trial. According to the judge’s detention order, Hernandez accused his wife of infidelity before strangling her with the vacuum cleaner cord.

Authorities say he then sent text messages to another person saying that he had something to confess, and “I’m pretty sure Estefania is dead.”

There was an order of protection against him in a criminal domestic violence case, where he was prohibited from having contact with Abril-Hernandez and their young son.

He also had an arrest warrant for failure to appear in that case.

The case was investigated by the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.

Hernandez’s next court appearance is April 6.