Authorities have identified a 29-year-old woman, who was a mother of two kids, that police say was murdered by her ex-husband on Valentine’s Day in Waukegan.
An autopsy showed Meztli Galindo, 29, of Waukegan, died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 6:45 a.m. Sunday to the 500 block of Lakehurst Road.
Dispatchers received a 911 call from 31-year-old Jose A. Alvarado-Ramirez reporting that his ex-wife was unresponsive inside a vehicle.
Waukegan Police Commander Edgar Navarro said officers responded and located Galindo unresponsive in a parked white sedan.
Paramedics arrived and determined the woman was dead at the scene. Friends of Galindo said she was a mother of two children.
The Major Crime Scene Unit and Criminal Investigations Division (CID) detectives were called to investigate.
Detectives interviewed Alvarado-Ramirez, who lives in the 500 block of Lakehurst Road, which is the same block where the murder occurred. Detectives learned he was Galindo’s estranged ex-husband.
Police conferred with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office based on the evidence and they approved first-degree murder charges against the man.
Navarro did not release the circumstances leading up to the murder but did say detectives are classifying it as a domestic violence-related incident. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 9.
Alvarado-Ramirez is being held in the Lake County jail on a $2 million bond. He will be required to post $200,000 cash in order to be released on bail.
The homicide remains under investigation by the Waukegan Police Department and Lake County Coroner’s Office.