Prosecutors charge Des Plaines man with fatal stabbing of wife's lover

A 39-year-old Des Plaines man who prosecutors say was angry over his wife's affair with another man is charged with stabbing the man and leaving his body in a drainage ditch behind an Elk Grove Village factory.

Jonas Villafuerte-Vega - already out on bail in a case where he's accused of attacking another man with a steel pipe last September - was ordered held on $2 million bail Friday on first-degree murder charges.

Villafuerte-Vega stabbed 45-year-old Dionicio Hernandez, of Des Plaines, "approximately 20 times over the course of two minutes, discarded the murder weapon and then went to work," Assistant Cook County State's Attorney C.J. Orrantia said.

Villafuerte-Vega's lawyer, Assistant Cook County Public Defender Caroline Glennon, said her client said he stabbed Hernandez on Tuesday in self-defense.

The stabbing occurred days after Villafuerte-Vega followed Hernandez to his home June 5, accused him of having an affair with his wife and told Hernandez - who worked with her at an Elk Grove Village factory - to "leave his wife alone," Orrantia said.

Video surveillance shows both Villafuerte-Vega's vehicle in the factory parking lot and Villafuerte-Vega walking toward the factory shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, Orrantia said. Hernandez's vehicle entered the lot a short time later, Orrantia said.

"The video shows the defendant lying in wait for the victim at the rear entrance to the factory," he said. "Within 18 seconds of the victim exiting his vehicle, the defendant can be seen running toward the victim. Then both the victim and the defendant moved out of the view of the camera."

At 5:10 a.m., Villafuerte-Vega walked back to his car, drove to his Batavia workplace and clocked in shortly before 6 a.m., Orrantia said.

Hernandez's body was discovered later that morning in a drainage ditch.

Police arrested Villafuerte-Vega about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. A search of his locker revealed red-stained clothing and shoes, Orrantia said.

Orrantia said Villafuerte-Vega told police he had a "folding knife" in his pocket and made statements admitting waiting for Hernandez and confronting him. Villafuerte-Vega told police Hernandez threw hot coffee at him and a struggle ensued, during which Villafuerte-Vega took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed Hernandez, Orrantia said.

Glennon said her client told police that Hernandez punched Villafuerte-Vega and a struggle followed.

"He told police that when they were rolling around fighting, his idea was to defend himself," Glennon said.

Villafuerte-Vega has an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge pending in DuPage County related to a September attack in a Wood Dale forest preserve. Orrantia said Villafuerte-Vega used a pipe to attack a different man who had been in a relationship with Villafuerte-Vega's wife.

Villafuerte-Vega next appears in court on June 26.