Nedas Revuckas stabs Eliza Morales, pregnant Downers Grove mom 70 times, killing her and her unborn child after becoming upset about ‘f**ked up’ car he had been sold on Facebook MarketPlace meetup.
A Facebook marketplace meetup in Illinois turned deadly after a pregnant woman was stabbed up to 70 times at her Chicago area home before the teen suspect setting the home ablaze.
Nedas Revuckas, 19, who was linked to the crime and arrested appeared in court on Thursday where he faced first degree murder and multiple felonies in the slaying of 30-year-old mom to be, Eliza Morales at her suburban Downers Grove apartment unit, Monday evening.
Prosecutors allege Revuckas acted with intent to kill or cause great bodily harm and that the killing occurred during the commissioning of forcible felony, FOX32 reported.
Facebook Marketplace listing leads to pregnant mom stabbed 70 times
Leading up to the slaying, Revuckas had responded to a Facebook Marketplace listing for a dark red 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck, Morales’ husband had listed on FB marketplace and to exchange license plates.
During the commission of the crime, the teen left with the vehicle, with Morales’ license plates still attached. At the time of the stabbing, the victim’s two year old daughter and husband were not at home.
Surveillance video captured Morales, who was five months pregnant with her second child, meeting the teen at the building around 5:30 p.m. and handing him a screwdriver to remove the vehicle’s license plate.
Just a few moments later, Revuckas allegedly entered the building with a screwdriver in his hand, as surveillance shows the door to the Morales unit opening and closing during ‘what appears to be a struggle.’
Teen confesses to stabbing pregnant mom after becoming upset about being sold a ‘f**ked up car’.
Responding police and firemen would arrive at the woman’s burning home at 6.09 p.m, where they found Revuckas unresponsive with roughly 70 stab wounds to her neck and head.
Investigators went to Revuckus’ home in Westmont, which he shared with his girlfriend, and saw the pickup truck in the driveway.
After being taken in for questioning, the alleged teen killer confirmed he was at the building to purchase the truck and had sought to return the license plates and retrieve the bill of sale. The teen also alleged leaving through the main doors, surveillance showed otherwise.
The suspect recanted after police finding bloody clothing inside his home, in which the teen ‘confessed to murdering Eliza.’
‘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,’ prosecutors stated.
Vigil as surviving husband and father reflects on tragedy
‘The defendant got into a fight with Eliza. The defendant said that during the fight, Eliza mentioned that she was pregnant.’
Revuckas also confessed to starting the blaze in the kitchen using items he found in the apartment, prosecutors added.
Revuckas is alleged to have told investigators, ‘They sold me a broken car and I didn’t know what to do. All I wanted to do was yell at someone. They sold me a ‘f**ked up car’.
Morales’ husband, Gabriel, was working when he received the call that his wife and unborn baby had died, WLS reported.
‘I’m gonna spend the rest of my life missing her,’ Gabriel Morales told the outlet.
‘I can get every second back with her and just continue try to live through her for my daughter. And continue to be strong for my family,’ he said.
Loved ones gathered for a vigil Wednesday evening to remember Morales, who was months away from welcoming her second child.
‘She’s a sweetheart and she didn’t deserve this,’ said Morales’ cousin, Carolina Castro. ‘It’s just too painful, and you don’t expect something like this to happen.’
Revuckas faces multiple felonies, including first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child, armed robbery, aggravated arson, and animal cruelty charges in connection with the tragic killing, and was ordered held without bail following Thursday’s court appearance.
