CHICAGO — A teen was charged with first degree murder Thursday in connection with the slaying of a 41-year-old man found decapitated on Christmas, officials said.
Eighteen-year-old Alexis Valdez allegedly "dismembered" the older man in a grisly holiday attack, police said, on what neighbors said was normally a "quiet" block.
Police were initially called to the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue in Hermosa about 2:05 a.m. Wednesday when they were alerted to a possible homicide, said Officer Amina Greer, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman.
Officers found the 41-year-old man's body in the basement and recovered a knife at the scene, authorities said. Valdez, of the 5000 block of West Drummond Place, was later taken into custody without incident.
Sylvestre Diaz-Hernandez, whose address was not released, was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as the victim. The relationship between Valdez and the victim was unclear Thursday.
Neighbors described the area surrounding the Christmas morning slaying as a mostly quiet block Wednesday, but said things weren't always so silent in the house where the man's body was found.
"They used to come outside and fight," said a woman named Martha, referring to the apartment's residents, whom she said she didn't know well.
At one point, Martha said she saw a car outside the home with windows that had been smashed in.
Valdez will appear in bond court Friday.
