Appeal denied for Arlington Heights-area man who stabbed roommate more than 30 times

A state appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a Palatine Township man who authorities say stabbed his roommate more than 30 times during an argument at their Arlington Heights-area home.

Miguel A. Gonzalez Lopez, 52, was sentenced to 45 years in prison last year after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the January 2022 slaying of childhood friend Antonio Gomez Torres.

Prosecutors alleged Gonzalez Lopez repeatedly stabbed the 52-year-old victim — and slashed his own brother, Alejandro Gonzalez-Lopez — during an argument at an apartment in the 2400 block of Randall Lane, just north of Arlington Heights.

Cook County sheriff’s police said officers responding to the scene found Gonzalez Lopez with blood on his hands and clothes. He later told police he had been drinking that night and had no idea how his roommate had been slain, according to court documents.

In his appeal, Gonzalez Lopez argued that jurors improperly heard hearsay evidence from a friend of his brother’s, who testified that she found Alejandro “distraught and crying” outside her apartment the night of the murder, with cuts on his hands. Alejandro, according to the witness, told her that his brother had stabbed their friend, and asked her to call police.

Prosecutors introduced the statements through the witness because Alejandro could not be located to testify. Authorities believed he fled the area, perhaps to his native Mexico, to avoid testifying against his brother.

In an unanimous ruling handed down Friday, the First District Appellate Court of Illinois ruled that the witness’ testimony was admissible under the “excited utterance” exception to hearsay. The exception allows testimony about a spontaneous statement made by a person in response to a startling or shocking event.

“Alejandro had witnessed his brother pull a knife during an argument and stab or slash their roommate 35 times,” Justice Celia Gamrath wrote in the decision. “When Alejandro intervened, Gonzalez-Lopez threatened to kill him, turned the knife on him, and cut his hand. Alejandro fled so abruptly that, despite the January snow, he left without a jacket, shoes, or cell phone.

“Given Alejandro’s ‘mental and physical condition’ when he spoke, trial the court reasonably concluded that he had not spent the intervening time fabricating an account of the traumatic events he had just experienced,” she added.

According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, Gonzalez Lopez will not be eligible for parole until January 2067.

ckeeshan@dailyherald.com