An Illinois family is mourning the loss of Eliza Morales, who was found stabbed to death inside her apartment earlier this week while she was five months pregnant, according to WGN, NBC 5 Chicago and ABC 7 Chicago.
Police have arrested 19-year-old Nedas Revuckas in connection with the killing. Revuckas appeared in court on Wednesday, Jan. 28, where he was charged with first-degree murder, robbery, arson, homicide of an unborn child and cruelty to animals, the outlets reported.
Officials in the Village of Downers Grove said firefighters and police responded to a reported apartment fire on Monday night. Inside, they found Morales with what police described as apparent sharp-force injuries. She was treated by paramedics and pronounced dead at the scene.
Morales was the mother of a two-year-old girl and was expecting her second daughter, NBC 5 reported.
“The loss of a beloved wife, daughter, and mother — along with her unborn child has left pain that words cannot fully express,” her family wrote in a GoFundMe created to help with funeral expenses.
“Eliza leaves behind a devoted husband and a precious, beautiful two-year-old daughter,” her in-laws added. “She came into our lives with a kindness that felt effortless. She was the type of person who would give the shirt off her back to a stranger. Her generosity wasn’t an act — it was her nature. Eliza was a devoted mother — gentle, patient, and fiercely committed to her family.”
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They continued, “She worked hard, not for recognition, but because she believed in building a strong, loving foundation for her family. Everything she did was rooted in love.”
Citing Morales’ relatives, ABC 7 reported that she was at home cooking dinner when she answered a knock at the door.
Morales’ family told NBC 5 they did not know Revuckas. Authorities told Fox 32 that Revuckas had responded to a Facebook Marketplace listing for a pickup truck posted by Morales’ husband. Investigators said Revuckas told detectives he was upset about the truck’s condition and “took out his frustration on her.” An autopsy found roughly 70 stab wounds and soot in Morales’ airway.
Morales’ husband, Gabriel Morales, said he was at work when he got the call that his wife and their expected baby girl had been killed, according to ABC 7.
“I’m gonna spend the rest of my life missing her,” he said. “I can get every second back with her and just continue try to live through her for my daughter. And continue to be strong for my family.”
