Woman charged in suburban Chicago murder-for-hire plot with secret lover denied pre-trial release
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The woman charged in what prosecutors call a murder-for-hire plot between secret lovers in south suburban Bridgeview will remain behind bars. Prosecutors say she wanted to end her relationship to start a new one, so she hired a killer.
Prosecutors said Sunday that the reason 33-year-old Agnieszka Rydzewski wanted Arturo Cantu Jr. dead was that she was over the relationship and wanted to be with another man.
"I'm heartbroken. I'm destroyed inside," said Cantu's mother, Diana Pacheco.
She said she is at a loss for words after hearing details of how her son's girlfriend is accused of planning to kill him.
"My philosophy is that if you're not getting along as a couple, leave," she said. "That's all you have to do."
Bridgeview Police say Rydzewski convinced her coworker, 20-year-old Anthony Calderon, to shoot and kill her boyfriend.
In her bond hearing, the assistant state's attorney said she was in a secret relationship with Calderon, and there were text messages to prove it. Prosecutors say from April 28 to May 15, the two had a significant number of text messages planning to kill Cantu.
On May 15, Cantu was found dead on the sidewalk near 79th and Oketo. He was shot twice around 5 a.m.
Prosecutors say he was ambushed while he was loading up his car. He used a knife to defend himself, but he didn't stand a chance.
Cantu's mother said they were in a six-year relationship, but she barely spoke to Rydzewski.
"I didn't care for her," Pacheco said.
Prosecutors say Rydzewski promised a relationship with Calderon if he plotted to kill Cantu. They claim that's when Calderon reached out to a third party to commit the murder - going so far as to pay the person.
Prosecutors say that when the third party backed out, Calderon took matters into his own hands.
"We do have relief that the perpetrators are in custody and also that they will be facing the justice," said Jose Pacheco, Cantu's stepfather.
After the judge denied bond for Rydzewski, Cantu's stepfather immediately clapped. He said it was a sigh of relief knowing one of his son's killers will stay behind bars.
