Insets: Anthony Jimenez (DuPage County Jail) and Jessica Reyes (GoFundMe). Background: The 1600 block of S. Michigan Avenue in Villa Park, Illinois, where Jimenez murdered Reyes (Google Maps).
An Illinois man who fatally stabbed his girlfriend in front of his mother after she escaped the apartment by climbing down a third-story balcony has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Anthony Jimenez, 28, received a 55-year prison sentence Friday for the murder of 24-year-old Jessica Reyes, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said. Jimenez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in April.
Villa Park police were called to an apartment in the 1600 block of S. Michigan Avenue shortly before 11 a.m. on July 17, 2024. Jimenez had dialed 911 and told dispatchers, “I stabbed my girlfriend in the neck.”
When officers arrived, Jimenez opened the door with blood on his hands and chest. Reyes was found severely wounded on the floor of a rear bedroom. Paramedics transported her to a hospital, where she later died.
According to prosecutors, Jimenez and Reyes had been arguing at the apartment for roughly three hours before the killing.
Jimenez allegedly stood in front of the apartment door and prevented Reyes from leaving. She eventually climbed down from a third-story balcony to reach the parking lot. After the two talked and the situation appeared to calm, Reyes returned inside to retrieve her belongings.
The confrontation soon reignited. Prosecutors said Jimenez pulled a knife from his pocket and drove it into the side of Reyes’ head.
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“As Reyes fought back, Jimenez continued to stab her multiple times about her neck, face, arms, chest and hands and only stopped stabbing Reyes when his mother entered the room,” prosecutors wrote.
Police arrested Jimenez at the apartment. He was taken to the DuPage County Jail, where he has been held since the attack.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin issued his comments as October was observed as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“This tragic case is a stark reminder that domestic violence must never be tolerated or excused, as doing so could result in deadly consequences,” Berlin said. “To Jessica’s surviving family and friends, I offer my sincere condolences on their loss and wish them strength as they continue their lives with just the memories of Jessica to see them through. No relationship should end in violence and as a society, we must all stand together and do what we can to prevent tragedies such as we saw in this case, from ever happening again.”
A GoFundMe campaign remembered Reyes as “the most selfless, resilient, and goofiest human being.”
“She accomplished amazing things in her 24 years of life. She served the military for six years and became a veteran not too long ago. No matter what, she was there for people who needed her,” her family wrote.
The post Woman escaped boyfriend by climbing down 3rd-story balcony, only to be murdered when she returned to get her things — now he’s headed to prison first appeared on Law & Crime.
