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A man is accused of killing his wife by strangling her with a vacuum cleaner cord, wrapping it around her neck multiple times before allegedly confessing the crime via text message to a friend.
Brian Hernandez now faces two counts of first-degree murder following the discovery of his wife, Estefania Abril-Hernandez, deceased in their home on March 19. This information comes from a press release issued by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office in Illinois.
Currently being held without bond, it remains uncertain if Brian has entered a plea. Attempts to reach his attorney for comments have been unsuccessful so far.
Estefania was reported missing by her family on March 18. The following day, Illinois State Police stopped her vehicle on Interstate 80, which was being driven by Brian. He was found with his wife’s cell phone and subsequently taken into custody.
Authorities, upon entering the couple’s home in Villa Park through an unlocked window, discovered Estefania’s body in a bedroom. The power cord of a vacuum cleaner was found tightly wrapped around her neck.
Police alleged that Brian and Estefania were at their home, which was scheduled for a foreclosure auction, to clean out their personal belongings when they started arguing.
Brian allegedly strangled his wife, according to police, then fled the scene. Authorities say they later found text messages, allegedly from Hernandez to another person, that read, “Hey…please call me, I have something to confess please” and “I’m pretty sure Estefania is dead.”
Estefania’s death follows a slew of legal troubles for Brian. Authorities learned that he has an order of protection against him tied to a criminal case which prohibits contact with Estefania and their son, according to the press release.
Plus, he’s on pretrial release with an active failure-to-appear warrant in the case, in which he is accused of interfering with a victim’s attempt to report domestic violence, according to the press release.
Brian will next appear in court on April 6.