Woman Sentenced To 40 Years For 'Vicious' West Chicago Murder

WHEATON, IL — A Wheaton woman was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in the 2018 slaying of Luis Guerrero, 18, of West Chicago. Tia Brewer, 22, was one of four people charged in the murder, in which Guerrero was kidnapped, beaten, strangled, stabbed, and burned.

Also charged in the murder are Saul Ruiz, 24, and Jesus Jurado-Correa, 25, and Francisco Alvarado, 25, all of West Chicago. Ruiz and Jurado-Correa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a first-degree murder. Ruiz was sentenced to 10 years and Jurado-Correa to 15 years as part of the plea deal. Alvarado pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and first-degree murder. He is set to appear in court for sentencing on Feb. 26.

Firefighters found Guerrero's body "smoldering" in a fire pit in the 1300 block of Joliet Street in West Chicago on Aug. 14, 2018. Brewer, then 16, Alvarado, Ruiz and Jurado-Correa were identified as suspects after an investigation.

According to police, Brewer set up a meeting with Guerrero at West Chicago Public Library after the four had planned to murder him. There, Alvarado attacked him and strangled him with a belt. Brewer and Alvarado then punched and stabbed Guerrero, stole his backpack, put him into their Jeep and drove to the 1300 block of Joliet Street, a news release said.

There, Guerrero was stabbed and beaten before Correa gave gasoline to Brewer and Alvarado, who put Guerrero into the fire pit, covered him in gasoline and set him on fire, police say. Guerrero tried to escape, but was again stabbed and beaten by Brewer and Alvarado, who set him on fire again, the news release said. Ruiz is accused of holding down Guerrero while he was being stabbed.

“The unconscionable degree of depravity exhibited by Tia Brewer and her co-defendants in this case as they strangled, beat, stabbed and lit on fire Luis Guerrero is beyond comprehension,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Berlin added, “In my 37 years as a prosecutor, I would be hard-pressed to recall such a vicious, gruesome murder of an innocent man. Guilty verdicts and lengthy prison sentences, however, cannot erase the pain and heartbreak caused by Ms. Brewer and her co-defendants. I wish Luis Guerrero’s family and friends strength as they continue their lives with just his memory to see them through."

Brewer must serve 85 percent of her sentence before she becomes eligible for parole.

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