Hanover Park man charged with murder, ordered held without bail in fatal stabbing of teen

A 22-year-old Hanover Park man was ordered held without bail Monday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a teen last week.

Abdullah Ahmed is charged with first-degree murder in the June 1 death of 17-year-old Winder Cruz, in what Cook County prosecutors described as a drug deal gone bad.

Ahmed told police he acted in self-defense, saying Cruz pulled a knife and tried to rob him during the transaction, defense attorney Richard Dvorak said. Ahmed said he punched Cruz, causing him to drop the knife, which the accused man then used to defend himself, Dvorak said.

According to prosecutors, surveillance video from a Hanover Park grocery store shows Ahmed and Cruz pulling into the lot in separate vehicles about 8 p.m. June 1. They say Cruz got out of his car and entered Ahmed's black Lexus, where the defendant's sibling was in the back seat, to sell him marijuana.

Ahmed stabbed Cruz multiple times in the face and neck, said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Aldina Vulic. Video shows Cruz stumbling from the vehicle and up a small hill to a nearby school parking lot, where he collapsed as Ahmed fled the scene, Vulic said.

A witness who was able to track Cruz through a mobile phone app noticed he hadn't moved in about 40 minutes, Vulic said. The witness, whom Cruz informed of the planned marijuana sale, went to the location and discovered the body, Vulic said.

Police recovered text messages between Ahmed and Cruz discussing the meeting, Vulic said, and cellphone records also place Ahmed's phone at the scene.

At Ahmed's home, police found a bloody shirt and pants with blood stains, Vulic added, and investigators recovered a knife believed used in the stabbing from under the driver's seat of Ahmed's car. There was blood spatter on the center console, dashboard and interior windshield, she said.

Ahmed, who has no criminal background, is scheduled to return to court June 30.