Nedas Revuckas, charged with murder in fire, stabbing that killed pregnant woman in Downers Grove, to return to court Thursday
The 19-year-old man accused in the deadly stabbing of a pregnant woman inside her Downers Grove, Illinois, apartment is due back in court Thursday after his defense attorneys asked for more time to review evidence in the case.
Nedas Revuckas of Westmont, Illinois, was arrested and charged on Tuesday with first-degree murder with intent to cause death or great bodily harm, armed robbery, aggravated arson, intentional homicide of an unborn child, and aggravated cruelty to animals.
At his first court appearance Wednesday morning in DuPage County, his defense attorneys asked for more time to review nearly 200 pieces of evidence in the case, including photos, videos, and witness statements. He will be back in court on Thursday morning as prosecutors seek to have him held in jail while he awaits trial. Revuckas will remain in custody for now.
Downers Grove police said officers and the Downers Grove Fire Department responded to a fire at an apartment building in the 2300 block of Ogden Avenue just after 6 p.m. on Monday.
Firefighters pulled a 30-year-old pregnant woman, identified by police as Eliza Morales, from the fire and found she had suffered stab wounds. Paramedics tried to help her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Morales' family said she had a 1 1/2-year-old daughter and was five months pregnant with her second daughter. She was married to her high school sweetheart.
Police have not said how or if Morales and Revuckas knew each other.
Morales' family is planning a vigil in her honor.