A trial has begun for a Round Lake man accused of murdering a 48-year-old woman when he allegedly stabbed her during a home invasion in Round Lake Beach.
Alonzo Campos, Jr., 23, of the 24500 block of West Passavant Avenue in unincorporated Round Lake, was charged in May 2019 with two counts of first-degree murder.
He was later indicted on five total counts of first-degree murder and four counts of home invasion.
The Round Lake Beach Police Department responded to a call of shots fired at 4:40 a.m. on May 17, 2019, in the 1500 block of Cherokee Drive.
Police officers found Mariana Castro-Tellez, 48, of Round Lake Beach, covered in blood.
The officers checked the woman for gunshot wounds and noticed an incision wound on the left side of her upper abdomen, prosecutors said.
Castro-Tellez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said that an autopsy showed Castro-Tellez died from sharp force trauma.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at the time that Campos entered Castro-Tellez’s home and was armed with a BB gun.
While inside the home, he confronted the woman and shot her several times with the BB gun before stabbing her with a knife that was inside the home, Covelli said.
A family member heard the BB gun discharge, prompting the 911 call to the police.
Campos allegedly fled the home and was taken into custody later that evening.
Investigators were able to identify Campos through several home surveillance videos.
A relative of the victim was able to identify Campos in the surveillance images.
The relative claimed that Campos and another person, who resided in the victim’s home, had an ongoing dispute over a video game console, prosecutors said.
Campos had attempted to collect money for the video game console weeks prior to the murder but was unsuccessful, prosecutors said.
Campos’ trial began on Monday. If convicted, he faces up to 60 years on the first-degree murder charge served concurrently with home invasion, which carries up to 30 years.
Campos has been held at the Lake County Jail since May 2019 on a $2 million bond.
The trial is expected to continue through the end of the week.