Chicago authorities arrested a person of interest in connection with the murder of a two-year-old boy who was found nearly decapitated at his home on Wednesday, Feb. 21, according to police.
Officers found the body of Mateo Garcia Aguayo inside a trash bag on the kitchen floor at 1:55 p.m., Chicago Tribune reported. The boy “suffered severe trauma from lacerations and fatal stab wounds,” police said in a statement.
“I saw a young man was running around here looking for some kind of help, and then I approached him, you know, in order to see what’s going on. He told me that he couldn’t talk because he was shaking a lot. So he asked if we could call the police or something,” said Rafael Abrago, a neighborhood resident, told ABC7.
Chicago police seen near the home of a slain two-year-old in Chicago. (Screenshot via Video Elephant/Fox32)
Chicago police seen near the home of a slain two-year-old in Chicago. (Screenshot via Video Elephant/Fox32)
Chicago police seen near the home of a slain two-year-old in Chicago. (Screenshot via Video Elephant/Fox32)
Chicago FBI agents and Illinois State Police detained a male person of interest after a traffic stop in Kankakee County later on Wednesday afternoon, according to a tweet from Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
“Man will be returned to Chicago to be interrogated by Detectives,” Guglielmi wrote.
The person of interest is believed to be a family member, though no details have yet been released.
Fox32 reported that a suspect was seen running from the scene drenched in blood.
Family members seen near the home of a slain two-year-old in Chicago. (Screenshot via Video Elephant/Fox32)
Chicago police seen near the home of a slain two-year-old in Chicago. (Screenshot via Video Elephant/Fox32)
Chicago police seen near the home of a slain two-year-old in Chicago. (Screenshot via Video Elephant/Fox32)
“It’s very devastating. Very sad for anybody, any age to be murdered. So I’m just devastated,” Quenshoda Howard, a neighbor, told ABC7.
The boy’s relatives were seen on the street near his home as investigators worked the crime scene. Police officers guarding the area offered their cars to the family members to warm up.
“It’s heartbreaking,” a neighbor told Fox 32. “It’s more so because I have kids of my own, so it hits home.”
