During the morning of April 26, 2018, Aurora resident Carlos Nunez was in a “jealous rage” at Jovita, his wife, believing she was being unfaithful to him.
While she slept in an upstairs bedroom, Carlos retrieved a hammer from the garage, went upstairs and struck Jovita in the head multiple times. He then placed both hands around her neck and began to strangle her. He then tied a handkerchief around her neck until she stopped moving. Carlos then swallowed a large quantity of pain reliever tablets, started the gas on the kitchen stove and slashed his wrists in a suicide attempt.
Around 4 p.m., a relative stopped by to check on Carlos when he failed to show up for work. He found Carlos unconscious but breathing on the bed next to Jovita’s lifeless body. Both were covered in blood. The autopsy revealed that Jovita’s cause of death was strangulation.
Carlos had a history of physically abusing Jovita throughout their marriage. He first was charged with domestic battery against her in 1997.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced today that the 60-year-old has agreed to a sentence of 22 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to the offense of first-degree murder.
Kane County Judge Salvatore LoPiccolo accepted the plea.
“This is the worst possible outcome of domestic abuse. Mr. Nunez decided that instead of facing up to rejection, he’d assume control and end Jovita’s life. His selfishness has destroyed a family, ripping away a mother from her children and a grandmother from her grandchildren.”
In accordance with Illinois law, Nunez must serve the full sentence. He receives credit for 1,415 days served in the Kane County jail, where he had been held since his arrest in lieu of $1 million bail.
