100 Year Sentence In Murder Of Pregnant Girlfriend
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (STMW) - A man who accused his pregnant girlfriend of cheating on him before bludgeoning her to death with a hammer last year will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Rafael Alvarado, 33, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for first-degree murder and 40 years for intentional homicide of an unborn child, with the sentences to be served consecutively, Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.
Alvarado was convicted earlier by a jury and sentenced on Tuesday by Judge Thomas Fecarotta at the Rolling Meadows courthouse, Simonton said.
Norma Favela, who was eight-month's pregnant, died on June 4, 2009, in her Hanover Park home after being hit 40 times in the head with a hammer, authorities said.
When Favela's 2-year-old daughter began crying, the then 32-year-old Alvarado comforted the girl and moved her to another room, then continued beating her mother, prosecutors said during Alvarado's initial court appearance last year.
Alvarado was living with Favela, 31, and her two young daughters, authorities said. Believed to be the father of Favela's unborn baby, he was accused of killing her during a jealous rage, prosecutors said.
Police went to the home after receiving a 911 call about 12:30 a.m.
Alvarado wasn't at the home when police arrived. He had persuaded a neighbor to drive him to Melrose Park after the beating, then offered another person cash to drive him to the Mexican border, prosecutors said.
But police arrested Alvarado as he and the other man tried to drive away from the home. Following his arrest, he gave police a videotaped statement implicating himself in the killings, prosecutors said.
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