Teen Accused In Glenview Slaying Due In Court, Protest Held

GLENVIEW, IL — A 16-year-old boy who turned himself in last month to the Glenview Police Department in connection with the stabbing death of 15-year-old Elias Valdez was due in court Wednesday morning. He has been living at his home on electronic monitoring since Aug. 18, a decision that has riled up Valdez's family, friends and members of the community.

A protest began at 8 a.m. outside the Skokie Courthouse, the third such protest in the last few weeks. According to the organizers of the protest's Facebook group, Justice For Elias Valdez, the accused is white and lives near Valdez's family in Unincorporated Glenview. The group is demanding the juvenile be tried as an adult and for Kim Foxx, state's attorney for Cook County, to "treat all criminals the same." The group is also using the hashtag #minoritylivesmatter.

About 60 demonstrators, including Valdez's family, protested in front of the Glenview Police Station on Aug. 30.

On Aug. 5, police responded to the 1200 block of Greenwood Road for an ambulance assist for a person down. Valdez, who was a rising sophomore at Glenbrook South High School, was found lying in a grassy area with a puncture wound to the chest. The unincorporated Glenview resident was transported to Lutheran General Hospital, where he later died in surgery.

The homicide was the first in Glenview since 2004, according to police. The Glenview Police Department was assisted in the investigation by the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force.

Funeral services for Valdez were held Aug. 14 at the Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home in Palatine.

Related:
Glenview Slaying Update: Teen Turns Himself In
Boy, 15, Stabbed To Death In Glenview