A Villa Park man was sentenced to 55 years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend to death inside his apartment in 2024.
Judge Mia McPherson handed down the sentence to Anthony Jimenez, 28, on Thursday, Oct. 15, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. Jimenez must serve 100% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. He will be 83.
Jimenez pleaded guilty on May 8 to one count of first-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Jessica Reyes.
The stabbing happened on July 17, 2024, at an apartment in the 1600 block of South Michigan Avenue in Villa Park. Villa Park police responded to a domestic disturbance call at about 10:50 a.m. During the 911 call, Jimenez told the dispatcher, "I stabbed my girlfriend in the neck," prosecutors said.
Officers found Jimenez at the door with blood on his hands and chest. He was handcuffed and taken into custody. Inside a back bedroom, officers found Reyes bleeding on the floor and administered aid until paramedics arrived and transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at about 11:26 a.m.
Investigators determined the couple had argued starting around 8 a.m. that day. Reyes tried to leave, but Jimenez blocked the door, so she climbed down from the third-floor balcony to the parking lot, prosecutors said. After the argument calmed, the two returned to the apartment so Reyes could collect her belongings.
The argument resumed. As Reyes gathered her things, Jimenez pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed her in the side of the head, prosecutors said. Reyes fought back, but Jimenez continued the attack. The original charges alleged he stabbed her a total of twelve times in the neck, face, arms, chest and hands, according to the state's attorney's office. He stopped only when his mother entered the room.
Jimenez had been held at the DuPage County Jail since July 19, 2024.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement that no one should have to live in fear of a spouse, partner or family member. Berlin noted the sentencing came during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and called the case a reminder that domestic violence can have deadly consequences.
Reyes' family described her on a GoFundMe page as the "most selfless, resilient, and goofiest human being." Patch reported she served in the military for six years.
