ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (AP) — A man accused of stabbing his wife to death with a screwdriver inside a locked bathroom at a suburban Chicago hospital has been charged with first-degree murder.
Prosecutors say 43-year-old Javier Bahena killed his wife because he believed she was having an affair.
The victim, 42-year-old Francisca Quintero, was attacked Sunday, March 22nd, just hours after her brother died of a heart attack at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village.
In a Monday hearing, prosecutors said the couple was married for more than 20 years, but had been separated over the last year. According to prosecutors, Behena took his wife's cellphone from a hospital waiting room, went to his truck and saw text messages that upset him.
The public defender's office said an attorney who's representing Behena would not comment at this point.
The Women's Resource Center in Racine has planned a candlelight vigil for Quintero on Wednesday, March 25th at Wehmhoff Square in Burlington. It will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The Women’s Resource Center will have trauma advocates available shortly before, during, and after the vigil. The vigil is open to the public.