Trial starts in 1996 murder of child

A trial began Monday for a reputed Aurora gang lieutenant in the 11-year-old slaying of 6-year-old gunned down in a botched attempt to assassinate a rival gang member.

Elias R. Diaz, 38, is accused of two counts of first-degree murder in the Nov. 10, 1996, death of Nico Contreras, who was shot while he slept at his grandmother's house.

Wearing a white carnation, Nico's mother testified how the home on the 600 block of Aurora Avenue was filled with police and sobbing relatives the night of the shooting, her son lying inside on a gurney.

"He wasn't moving," Sandra Contreras said. "I didn't comprehend he was gone until I picked him up and blood started coming out of his nose."

Diaz targeted the house for a hit on Nico's uncle, who he thought was the triggerman in an earlier shooting, Kane County prosecutors said.

After driving two members of his gang to pick up a .380-caliber handgun, Diaz drove to the home and gave the order to "take care of business," prosecutor Mark Stajdohar said.

After seven shots were fired into the bedroom where Nico slept, Diaz drove the getaway car from the scene, Stajdohar said.

Even though Nico's killing horrified a city already reeling from years of gang warfare, charges were not filed until late 2006, after gang members hoping to beat unrelated allegations implicated Diaz.

Diaz, of the 100 block of Solfisburg Avenue, has been held on $5 million bail and maintains his innocence.

Defense attorney Kathleen Colton said the case against Diaz has been built without any evidence and statements from witnesses "bought and paid" by prosecutors.

"You are not going to see or hear any physical evidence, not one scintilla, that links Mr. Diaz to this crime," Colton told Judge Timothy Sheldon, who is presiding over the bench trial.

The trial is expected to take a week, with Diaz likely testifying on Thursday.

The alleged gunman who killed Nico, Mark Downs, is also jailed on murder charges and is awaiting his own trial.

The courtroom on Monday was filled with the slain boy's family, who said they spent more than a decade praying for justice.

"It's about time that these defendants pay for what they did," said Nico's father, Javier Contreras. "These individuals who are playing these games -- they're deadly games out on the streets."