Authorities: Man killed wife while she was holding child

An Elk Grove Township man is being held without bail after being charged with the shooting death of his wife while she was holding their 1-year-old son.

Jose Arturo Salgado, 42, was in court Tuesday afternoon to face one count of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, 36-year old Divina Salgado. Judge Joel Greenblatt ordered him held without bail after Assistant State's Attorney Lorna Chevlin described what happened between the couple Sunday at their trailer home on the 100 block of 3rd Avenue in an unincorporated area near Elk Grove Village.

The Salgados are parents to four sons, ages 18, 15, 7 and 1, but Divina had recently told Jose that she wanted a divorce, Chevlin said.

Over the weekend, Divina and her two youngest sons had been away with a friend in Wisconsin. They got back to the Willoway Terrace mobile home community around 1:45 p.m. Divina was approaching their trailer while carrying their 1-year-old son when Jose Salgado shot her in the head with a handgun from three or four feet away, Chevlin said.

"The victim was shot in the temple and the 1-year-old child whom she was carrying fell to the ground, causing a cut and bruising to his forehead," she said. "The 15-year-old son, an eyewitness, picked up his brother, ran down the block and called 911."

The other two sons came out of the trailer home when they heard the gunshot. The 18-year-old son told prosecutors that he saw his father with the gun in his hand and heard him say "he had finally done it," Chevlin said.

Salgado then went inside, set the gun on the countertop and told the older son that he was leaving and going to Mexico, Chevlin said.

Divina Salgado was pronounced dead at the scene. After police arrived, Jose Salgado returned to the scene and was arrested, after which he admitted that he had shot his wife, Chevlin said.

She also said that in the days leading up to the murder, "he told his sons that he was angry with their mother and that he was going to kill (her) with his gun."

She said that over the weekend, the two sons tried to find their father's gun but they were unable to locate it.

Salgado was represented in court Tuesday by public defender Jeff Wise. He could face a life sentence if convicted. Salgado previously served two years of probation for a charge of aggravated DUI, according to court records.

The couple's three children under age 18 have been placed in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Salgado will next appear in court 9 a.m. Aug. 23.