Nedas Revuckas detained ahead of murder trial for pregnant woman stabbed 70 times in Downers Grove, Illinois
Nedas Revuckas, the 19-year-old charged with the murder of a pregnant woman he allegedly stabbed 70 times in west suburban Downers Grove, has been ordered to remain in custody ahead of his trial.
Revuckas was back in court Thursday after a one-day delay in his detention hearing to give his attorneys more time to review evidence. He appeared again this morning at DuPage County Court in Wheaton, Illinois where a judge ordered him detained ahead of his trial.
His next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 18.
Revuckas, of Westmont, was arrested and charged on Tuesday for the murder of 30-year-old Eliza Morales. In addition to six counts of first-degree murder with intent to cause death or great bodily harm, he is also charged with armed robbery, aggravated arson, intentional homicide of an unborn child, and aggravated cruelty to animals.
Police said Revuckas cried in custody as he confessed to the killing and showed them where he stashed bloody clothes.
Court documents revealed the horrific scene off Ogden Avenue in Downers Grove began with a Facebook Marketplace transaction.
Revuckas apparently purchased a pickup truck from Morales' husband on Saturday. But Morales and her husband had inadvertently left their license plates on the truck, and arrangements were made for Revuckas to return the plates on Monday, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said at a news conference Thursday.
Revuckas came to return the plates as scheduled on Monday. But investigators said Revuckas told them he got into a fight with the pregnant mom about the condition of the truck, attacked her with a knife, and then lit the apartment on fire.
An autopsy showed Morales was stabbed 70 times.
In court Thursday, prosecutors said Revuckas told police he was upset about the truck, and he wanted to confront someone about it — and blacked out when he did.
The family gathered for a vigil outside Morales' home Thursday night. They remembered Morales as a loving mother to a 1 1/2-year-old daughter and someone who always cooked and cared for others.
"I know she's a sweetheart, and she didn't deserve this, and it's just too painful, and honestly, you just don't ever expect this to happen," said Carolina Castro, Morales' cousin, "and so I'm just there for my uncle, her sisters, everybody."
The baby with whom Morales was pregnant did not survive. This led prosecutors to add intentional homicide of an unborn child to Revuckas' list of charges.
The cruelty to animals charge comes from allegations that Revuckas stabbed and kicked the Morales' family dog. The pit bull was recovering as of Thursday.
Downers Grove police were able to identify Revuckas quickly, Berlin said. They found the pickup truck that Revuckas had purchased from Morales and her husband in the driveway of a house on Spruce Lane in Westmont, Berlin said.
Revuckas was taken into custody at that point, Berlin said. Afterward, a search warrant was executed at the Spruce Lane home, turning up bloody boots and other clothing.
More clothing that Revuckas had been wearing at the time of the murder was found in the garbage at a hardware store at 63rd and Main streets in Downers Grove, Berlin said. Police also found Morales' lanyard and work IDs from Lurie Children's Hospital, where she worked, as well as her husband's debit card, Berlin said.
Bloody gloves and pieces of Morales' phone were also located, Berlin said. Blood was also found by the driver's door and steering wheel in the pickup truck.
Downers Grove police Chief Mike DeVries said in a news conference that his team worked the difficult case with a sense of calm urgency. They were determined to get justice for the mother.
"Not only was this outstanding police work, someone was looking over us and helping us gather this information in a very timely, quick, thorough and professional manner, which led to this outcome. So I'm thankful for that," DeVries said. "I'm thankful we have an outcome for Eliza, her family and her unborn child."
Prosecutors said evidence continues to be processed at the crime lab, and more charges could be coming.
Revuckas is due back in court on Feb. 18.