Husband receives 45-year sentence for murder

A 50-year-old Des Plaines-area man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing his wife on Valentine's Day 2011.

A jury of seven men and five women spent 40 minutes deliberating in November before convicting Heriberto Ramirez of stabbing his wife of 26 years to death during a fight at their mobile home in an unincorporated portion of Cook County near O'Hare International Airport.

Alicia Ramirez, 45, was stabbed 34 times, suffering wounds to her chest, neck, abdomen, arms and legs, prosecutors said. The most serious blow cracked a rib, punctured her lung and lacerated her aorta, causing an injury that would have been fatal within minutes.

Heriberto Ramirez claimed during the trial that he didn't remember what happened to his wife.

His 11-year-old daughter told the jury that her father attacked her mother as the couple argued. She called 911 and reported that “her dad is hitting my mom,” before the call was abruptly cut off.

When police arrived at their home, they found the father of three breathless and perspiring, and soon placed him under arrest after discovering the body of his wife.

State law requires Heriberto Ramirez serve all 45 years of the sentence.