Hoffman Estates man charged with fatally stabbing acquaintance more than 50 times
A Hoffman Estates man who prosecutors say stabbed an acquaintance with a kitchen knife more than 50 times was ordered held without bail Friday.
Francisco J. Palomares-Mendez, 20, is charged with first-degree murder in the death Monday of a 30-year-old acquaintance.
Prosecutors say Palomares-Mendez and the victim had been drinking together in the 700 block of Hill Drive in Hoffman Estates when a fight erupted between the two at about 11:45 p.m. After another male acquaintance approached the two men, Palomares-Mendez retrieved a kitchen knife from his backpack and proceeded to repeatedly stab the victim in the chest, abdomen and back, said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Mary McMahon.
Palomares-Mendez and the second man fled, leaving "the victim behind to succumb to his injuries," McMahon said.
Officers responding to the 911 call reported the victim was lying on the ground with "deep and voluminous" wounds, McMahon said.
Treating physicians reported the man "was stabbed in excess of 50 times," she said.
McMahon said eyewitnesses observed the physical struggle between Palomares-Mendez and the victim and saw the defendant retrieve the knife, stab the victim and flee the scene. A witness, who took cellphone video of the defendant and the second male acquaintance fleeing the scene, called 911, she said. Palomares-Mendez was subsequently identified from video evidence from earlier that day, McMahon said.
Police searched his residence and discovered blood in the sink and a shirt with blood stains that matched a shirt the defendant was wearing during the attack, McMahon said.
Referencing the "gruesome and excessively violent nature of the attack," prosecutors asked Palomares-Mendez be held without bail.
Cook County Judge Ellen Mandeltort agreed and set Oct. 15 as his next court date.
If convicted, Palomares-Mendez faces between 20 and 60 years in prison.
• Daily Herald staff writer Jake Griffin contributed to this report.