Slain Woman's Family Needs Money to Pay for Funeral

The family of a woman allegedly strangled to death by her abusive husband needs help paying back the money they borrowed to bury her.

“She had a lot of plans she’s not going to realize anymore,” Jose R. Reyes said of his sister, Laura V. Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, 22, was strangled to death by her husband, 27-year-old Cesar Garcia, police said. Officers reportedly found Garcia in bed with his wife’s lifeless body Tuesday night. Garcia, who a source said was in a drug-induced stupor, was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center. Once he was coherent enough to communicate, he confessed to strangling his wife to death, police said.

Just two months ago, Garcia was arrested for allegedly battering Gonzalez. As a condition of his bond, he was forbidden from coming within 1,000 feet of her or their Crest Hill home.

As he choked the life out of his wife, Garcia told her, “If I can’t have you, no one will,” a prosecutor said during the alleged killer’s first court appearance.

Gonzalez had no life insurance and her family was not prepared to cover the costs of her funeral, Reyes said. They were forced to borrow the money and have now set up a Go Fund Me page in hopes of paying off the loan.