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Authorities: Man killed woman over argument about money for PlayStation

An argument over selling a PlayStation video game system was behind the killing of a 48-year-old Round Lake Beach woman in her house, authorities said Tuesday.

Alonzo Campos Jr., 20, who is charged with first-degree murder, was ordered held on $2 million bail by Judge Paul Novak during a bond hearing at the Lake County courthouse in Waukegan.

Campos, of the 24500 block of West Passavant Avenue in unincorporated Lake County, is required to post 10 percent in order to be released. Should he be able to post the required bond, Novak ordered Campos remain on 24-hour curfew, not partake in any drugs or alcohol, and not have any contact with anyone involved in the case against him.

Assistant Lake County State's Attorney Russ Caskey said in court that Campos went to Mariana Castro-Tellez's house on the 1500 block of Cherokee Drive about 4:30 a.m. Friday to collect money for a PlayStation he apparently pawned to a person living there.

A family member called police about 4:41 a.m. to say he heard shots fired in the house. Police arrived and found Castro-Tellez dead in an upstairs bedroom, authorities said.

Castro-Tellez was shot four times with the BB gun and stabbed once, but managed to crawl up the stairs into a bedroom, where she died, Caskey said in bond court.

The Lake County coroner's office said an autopsy Monday showed preliminary cause of death was from sharp force trauma injuries. Toxicology results are pending, coroner officials said.

Police from Round Lake Beach and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force used cameras in the area to track Campos walking to the Cherokee Drive house before the shooting, then running from the house when the emergency call was made about 4:40 a.m., Caskey said in court. The family member who called police was able to identify Campos on the video, Caskey said.

Police confiscated a BB gun from Campos' house, as well as shoes, pants and a sweatshirt that tested positive for blood, Caskey said. Police also recovered a 5-inch knife that tested positive for blood along the half-mile route Campos took between the houses, Caskey said in court.

Caskey added Campos admitted to police he had an issue regarding the PlayStation with someone who lived in the house, and was overheard by officers saying his life was over and he was going to prison. Campos never admitted to the crime, authorities said.

He was on probation after pleading guilty to theft in November 2018, court records show. He also had a juvenile arrest for domestic battery, Caskey said in court.

Campos is due back in court July 18.

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