Police say that a hitman hired by the woman’s ex-husband ki!!ed a 33-year-old woman in North Chicago. The woman’s name has now been given by the coroner. Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said that an autopsy done on Friday showed that Cecilia Cuahua-Zopiyactle, who had recently lived in Waukegan and North Chicago, died from multiple gunshot wounds. Cuahua-Zopiyactle was 33 years old.
Banek said that the woman was from Veracruz, which is in Mexico. Around 6:05 a.m. on Friday, the North Chicago Police Department got a ShotSpotter warning about shots being fired in the 1000 block of Victoria Avenue in North Chicago. Cuahua-Zopiyactle had been shot when the police got there and found him. Several empty shells were also found.
On the spot, Cuahua-Zopiyactle was said to be dead. In the end, investigators caught three suspects in the case. Seferino Calihua-Rodriguez, 35, from Waukegan, was charged with two counts of first-degree m*rder, solicitation of m*rder for hire, and attempted first-degree m*rder.
Misael Chavarin-Plazola, 26, and Rosalio Diaz-Zarate, 29, both of Waukegan, were charged with two counts of first-degree m*rder and attempted first-degree m*rder. Jeffrey Facklam, an assistant state’s attorney in Lake County, said that the woman’s co-worker was also at the scene of the ki!!ing.
She told detectives that she was going to work with Cuahua-Zopiyactle. Facklam said that the coworker was putting her lunch in the back seat when she heard shots and fell to the ground.
She saw a dark SUV that looked like a Cadillac speeding away from the m*rder scene. Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said that Chavarin-Plazola was found to be the person who shot Cuahua-Zopiyactle. Covelli said that Chavarin-Plazola also tried to ki!! the second woman who was at the scene.
He missed, and the other woman was not hit by the gunshots. Facklam said that the surviving witness and other coworkers told investigators that Cuahua-Zopiyactle and Calihua-Rodriguez had been having major problems since May. When Calihua-Rodriguez found out that Cuahua-Zopiyactle had been seeing someone else, it made him angry.
Facklam said that Calihua-Rodriguez’s coworkers told him that the female victim’s work schedule and other facts were important to him. Investigators got camera footage from the area where the shooting happened. The footage showed that the black SUV was in the area 20 minutes before the shooting happened.
People could see the SUV turn onto Victoria Avenue and turn off its lights. Facklam said that the SUV stopped near where the ki!!ing happened, and gunfire could be heard before it sped away. Officers found out that Diaz-Zarate was the one who owned the Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Diaz-Zarate told the police that Chavarin-Plazola asked to use his car around 4 a.m. on Friday and returned it later that morning. Covelli said that it was found out that Diaz-Zarate drove Chavarin-Plazola to the area and then drove him away after the m*rder. Facklam said that a second witness told police that she heard Calihua-Rodriguez and Chavarin-Plazola talking in July about how Chavarin-Plazola would ki!! Cuahua-Zopiyactle in exchange for money.
They talked about exact amounts, and the witness said that Chavarin-Plazola had been paid or was going to be paid $1,200. The phones of Calihua-Rodriguez and Chavarin-Plazola were checked by the police. They were always talking to each other, and Calihua-Rodriguez brought up the idea of getting Chavarin-Plazola a car. In the text messages, Chavarin-Plazola said he thought the deal was for $7,000. Calihua-Rodriguez replied that he thought it was for $6,000.
At one point, Calihua-Rodriguez seemed angry with Chavarin-Plazola. He told him that he still hadn’t done anything, even though they’d been talking since July. Facklam says that earlier this month, Calihua-Rodriguez sent a text message to Chavarin-Plazola telling him to let him borrow the gun and that he would “take care of it.”
Facklam said that on September 19, Calihua-Rodriguez sent Chavarin-Plazola a text message telling him to “get it done tomorrow” and that he had already given him some of the money and a car. Facklam said that in the texts, Calihua-Rodriguez also said he was “looking for another dude” and wanted his money back. Facklam says that on September 21, Calihua-Rodriguez sent a text message to Chavarin-Plazola telling him to “get it done” the next day.
Phone records showed that Chavarin-Plazola was at the place where the ki!!ing happened. Facklam said that Chavarin-Plazola texted Calihua-Rodriguez just minutes after the ki!!ing that “both girls are dead.” During a Tuesday afternoon meeting, Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak agreed to keep a person in jail after prosecutors asked for it. Potkonjak told the Lake County Jail to hold Calihua-Rodriguez until his hearing.
Chavarin-Plazola and Diaz-Zarate are still in jail, too. Eric Rinehart, the state’s attorney for Lake County, called this “one of the most planned and cold-blooded m*rders we’ve ever seen.” Rinehart said that the state’s attorney’s Major Crime Task Force, Violent Crimes Unit, and forensic team did an “amazing job” of solving the case.
“These public servants have started to secure justice for this victim and have prevented these offenders from escaping the jurisdiction with their thorough and detailed work,” Rinehart said.