Woman Sought Protection From Ex Hours Before Attack That Killed Her Teen Daughter: Prosecutors

LYONS TOWNSHIP, IL — Just hours before a woman's ex attacked her and her daughter, fatally injuring the 16-year-old girl, a judge had denied an order of protection against the Orland Park man, court records show. It was granted days later, after the woman was stabbed and the daughter had died following the brutal assault.

In court documents, prosecutors outlined how Juan Carlos Perez-Abarca had stalked and harassed the 48-year-old woman—surfacing at her workplace and later interrupting one of her dates—days before they allege he suffocated her 16-year-old daughter with a plastic bag. He also attacked and stabbed the 48-year-old woman inside her apartment, ambushing her as she rushed to her daughter's aid, prosecutors said.

Perez-Abarca, 35, was shot at the scene by Cook County sheriff’s deputies. He was initially charged with attempted murder and home invasion. That charge was upgraded to murder after the girl, identified as Lyons Township High School student Emily Romo, died days later, the Cook County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Patch Wednesday. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said she died of complications from asphyxia suffered during the assault, and ruled the death a homicide.

Cook County Sheriff’s police responded around 5:30 p.m. Aug. 11 to a report of domestic violence at an apartment in the 6400 block of Joliet Road, according to police. An officer found Perez-Abarca holding a woman at knife point on the floor, with Romo motionless beside him, police said. Perez-Abarca was shot by police when instead of releasing the woman, he put the knife to his own throat before stabbing her again.

Prosecutors allege that Perez-Abarca and the woman had a romantic relationship spanning seven years, which the woman broke off. The man, prosecutors said, continually contacted her and threatened self-harm in an attempt to persuade her to reunite.

The woman had never told him where she worked or lived, but on Aug. 9, prosecutors said he appeared at her workplace, where he went through her checkout line to purchase flowers, then left them with her. He then was seen lingering in the parking lot, cleaning the woman's headlights as she worked, court records show. He told her he'd become homeless, and asked if he could live with her.

Later that evening, prosecutors said, he interrupted a date she was on with another man, where he "showed up and sat in the booth" the two were sharing. They ended the date, and Perez-Abarca was allegedly following them as they left the restaurant, according to authorities.

The woman, records show, "called police because she was scared," but they could not find Perez-Abarca.

The next day, he was outside her apartment building, posing as her brother-in-law and asking neighbors which unit was hers, prosecutors said.

Neighbors and a male companion went with her Aug. 11 to the Bridgeview Courthouse, where she sought an order of protection while Romo went to the gym. That order was denied; Perez-Abarca was notified to appear for a hearing, prosecutors said.

As they got back from the courthouse, the group found a ladder propped against the apartment building, and Perez-Abarca's car in the parking lot. Rushing inside, the mother found Romo with a plastic bag over her head and unconscious, prosecutors said.

The woman ran to help her daughter, but Perez-Abarca leapt from a closet, attacking her in a bear hug and stabbing her, prosecutors said. She suffered a collapsed lung and stab wounds. Romo died several days later, on Aug. 14, prompting prosecutors to upgrade Perez-Abarca's charges to include murder.

Perez-Abarca was discharged from a hospital Thursday night and appeared in a wheelchair Friday in court, where he was ordered held at the Cook County jail until his next court date Sept. 5.