Chicago — Gravely wounded by an attacker who stabbed her on a CTA platform in downtown Chicago, a woman stumbled to street level, collapsed, and identified her killer by name, officials said.
Alejandro Arellano, the woman’s former co-worker and ex-boyfriend, was held without bail by Judge David Kelly during a bail hearing Monday afternoon.
Samantha Maldonado, 26, met with Arellano at Miller’s Pub, 134 South Wabash, and left the restaurant alone around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord said. But Arellano followed close behind and trailed her as she climbed the stairs to the Adams-Wabash platform.
CTA surveillance footage allegedly showed Arellano take a folding knife from his pocket, extend the blade, and return it to his pocket as he walked behind Maldonado, who looked over her shoulder repeatedly.
Arellano, 31, found Maldonado hiding behind a CTA equipment box on the southbound platform and physically stopped her from boarding an incoming train, McCord said. Maldonado pulled away, but Arellano allegedly grabbed her from behind and used his knife to stab her repeatedly in the chest, abdomen, and side.
He boarded another train and fled the scene as Maldonado stumbled to ground level and collapsed in the middle of Wabash Avenue outside Miller’s Pub. Witnesses, including the bar’s security officer, administered first aid until police and paramedics arrived.
When asked who attacked her, Maldonado initially said “Alejandro,” and she later gave other witnesses Arellano’s full name and birthdate, McCord alleged. She died from her wounds at Stroger Hospital a short time later.
Police arrested Arellano outside his home on Saturday afternoon. His shoes and jeans had suspected blood stains on them, and police found a folding knife in his pocket that appeared to have blood and tissue on it, McCord said. Those items have been sent for forensic testing.
During questioning, Arellano allegedly admitted to “poking” Maldonado once, but he said he didn’t remember doing more.
He has no criminal background and has lived in Chicago for 16 years, according to his defense attorney.
