(StraightNews.org) – Illinois prosecutors have charged an illegal immigrant with murdering his wife, saying he “nearly decapitated” her. Baltazar Perez-Estrada, who reportedly entered the US just weeks ago, allegedly stabbed his 25-year-old wife to death in front of their young children on April 1. Records show that Perez-Estrada crossed the border from Mexico two weeks earlier and was charged with alien inadmissibility, provided with an immigration court date, and released.
Prosecutors allege the couple had a verbal argument at their apartment that turned physical. The husband allegedly took a knife and stabbed his wife, Maricela Simon Franco, several times in the head, neck, body, and hands, with such ferocity that he almost removed her head from her body. The 32-year-old husband later attended a local police station to hand himself in. Court documents indicate that Franco intended to end the marriage.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin called it a “senseless and brutal act” and offered his condolences to the dead woman’s family. He added that his office is committed to tackling domestic violence in partnership with charities and other law enforcement agencies.
During his first court appearance, Perez-Estrada, charged with first-degree murder, was held without bail.
According to available data from the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, illegal migrants committed 1,178 domestic assaults in 2021, a 400% increase from the previous year. There were 60 murders over the same period – a 1,900% increase from 2020.
Furthermore, a New York study has found that most women murdered by their intimate partners are foreign-born, while 48% of Latinas claim violence against them increased after they moved to the United States.
Women’s charities report that immigrant women are far less likely to seek support as they are afraid of deportation, don’t speak English, or believe that US laws do not apply to them. The Violence Against Women Act, however, gives rights to domestic abuse victims regardless of status and protects them from deportation under specified circumstances.
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