COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Bridgeport man has been charged with fatally stabbing his girlfriend Saturday night.
The victim, 35-year-old Maricela Villegas, had an order of protection against her attacker, 34-year-old Maurisio Hernandez, since September, according to prosecutors. The order is valid until June 2017.
Hernandez faces first-degree murder charges.
He failed to appear for a bond hearing Monday because he's suffering from abdominal pain and alcohol withdrawal, a Chicago Police officer testified in court. Hernandez was admitted to Stroger Hospital and is expected to appear at a new bond hearing Thursday.
Until then, Hernandez will be held without bail, Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ruled Monday.
The attack happened just before 6 p.m. Saturday when the couple got into a fight in the 2800 block of South Short Street, authorities said. Hernandez, whom police identified as a gang member, stabbed Villegas in the neck, authorities said.
Emergency crews rushed Villegas to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, but she later died, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Hernandez, who lives on the block where the fatal attack occurred, previously was convicted of aggravated discharge of a firearm and retail theft, court records show.
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