Horrifying details emerged in court after authorities said a 30-year-old pregnant woman was stabbed and murdered during what officials believe was a suburban Facebook Marketplace exchange turned deadly.
Prosecutors on Wednesday revealed what they said happened before and after Eliza Morales was brutally stabbed and her building set on fire in Downers Grove.
Nedas Revuckas, 19, of Westmont, has been charged with first degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child, armed robbery, aggravated arson and animal cruelty in connection with the killing. He was granted a continuation of his detention hearing Wednesday and is expected to return to court Thursday morning.
In their arguments, prosecutors said the situation began when Morales’ husband listed a dark red 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck on Facebook Marketplace over the weekend. Revuckus responded the listing that same day and picked it up.
On Monday, Revuckus was scheduled to return to exchange the license plates on the vehicle and the bill of sale for the truck.
Surveillance video from Morales’ building shows her meeting Revuckus at the building around 5:30 p.m. and at one point handing him a screwdriver. He is seen returning a few minutes later and entering the building with the screwdriver in his hand.
At about 5:47 p.m., the video shows the door to Morales’ unit opening and closing. At one point, Morales is seen in “what appears to be a struggle” with Revuckus before the door quickly closes, a proffer read in court stated.
After that, the door handle is seen turning and moving from the inside.
“It appears someone is trying to open the door to get out,” the proffer stated.
About 10 minutes later, smoke is seen coming out of the unit.
About 6:09 p.m. Monday, police and firefighters responded to Morales’ apartment building in the 2300 block of Ogden Avenue for reports of a kitchen fire. When they arrived, they found Morales, who was pregnant, with apparent sharp force trauma.
Police said Morales’ 2-year-old child was not home at the time of the incident, but her elderly pitbull mix, Zula, suffered a stab wound between her eyes and escaped from a sliding door during the blaze. Zula was taken to VCA animal hospital for care.
After the fire, authorities said they went to the home Revuckus shares with his girlfriend in Westmont, saw the pickup truck in the driveway and took him in for questioning.
During questioning, police said Revuckus confirmed he was at the building for the exchange involving the truck, but said he left through the main doors, despite no surveillance video showing him doing so.
In a later interview, police told Revuckus they found bloody clothing inside his home and he “confessed to murdering Eliza,” the proffer stated.
“The defendant indicated he stabbed the victim 10 times. The defendant was upset about the condition of the dark red 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck that he had purchased and decided to take out his frustration on Eliza,” the proffer read. “The defendant got into a fight with Eliza. The defendant said that during the fight, Eliza mentioned that she was pregnant.”
An autopsy performed found Morales had 70 stab wounds, a majority of which were from a knife and were located on her head and neck.
Prosecutors said Revuckus also confessed to starting a fire in the kitchen using items from Morales’ apartment, which authorities said was consistent with preliminary findings on the blaze.
“When detectives left the interview room and the defendant was alone in the room, the defendant at one point was crying,” the proffer read.
He then allegedly walked officers through his disposal of evidence following the attack.
Prosecutors said clothing was found in a garbage can at an Ace Hardware store cited by Revuckus as one of the locations where he disposed of evidence. The bag also contained Morales’ lanyard and work ID’s for Lurie Children’s Hospital and her husband’s debit card.
Family members told NBC Chicago that Morales was five months pregnant, and was at home cooking dinner when she was attacked. The family added that none of them, including Morales, knew Revuckas.
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