Crime & Safety
No Bond For Man Charged With Murdering Wheaton Woman
Myron Ester, 40, is accused of killing Linda Valez and burying her body in a Glen Ellyn park, prosecutors said.
A judge on Wednesday ordered a 40-year-old homeless man to be held without bond in the gruesome stabbing death of a Wheaton woman.
Myron D. Ester, 40, was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death on Linda Valez, 33. Judge Robert Klemann made the ruling during a hearing at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton.
Ester appeared in person wearing a yellow jumpsuit. He switched between looking down at the ground and back up again as an assistant state's attorney detailed Ester's relationship with Valez.
It was difficult at first to understand the officials speaking in the courtroom, which was filled with attorneys and family members for other cases. Valez's mother Gloria Araujo sat in the front row and said she wanted to hear what was being said.
"This man killed my daughter," Araujo said out loud. The courtroom quieted quickly as a deputy warned her that another "outburst"Â would get her removed from court.
Prosecutors said Ester stabbed Valez 34 times during an argument late Sept. 24 or early Sept. 25 at Panfish Park in Glen Ellyn. He initially denied knowing Valez's whereabouts but then changed his story when confronted with evidence, including footage of him and Valez on Sept. 24 leaving the Glen Ellyn McDonald's on the 400 block of Roosevelt Road.
Valez had family in the area but was homeless by choice, her friends told Patch. She had tried to break off her relationship with Ester, but he refused to leave her, prosecutors said.
The Night She Disappeared
After they left McDonald's on Sept. 24, Valez and Ester walked a couple blocks east to Panfish Park in Glen Ellyn. There they drank and later got into an argument, prosecutors said.Ester told police that Valez pulled a knife on him but he was able to take it from her. Then he said he passed out and could not remember the rest of the evening.Â
At about 2 a.m. Sept. 25, Ester appeared at a Glen Ellyn fire station to seek treatment for a cut on his hand. He was transported to a local hospital and told those who cared for him that he could not remember how he injured himself, prosecutors said.
Araujo sobbed into her lap as the assistant state's attorney described her daughter's injuries. She had facial injuries, including one stab wound through an eyeball and into her brain, the assistant state's attorney said.
She also had defensive wounds on her arms indicating that she held them up during the attack, prosecutors said.
Another man in the gallery called Ester a "son of a (expletive)" under his breath as Ester was led out of the courtroom.
Ester was appointed a public defender at the start of the hearing. The next court date for his case is Oct. 8.Â
This story will be updated throughout the morning.
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