DuPage County State Attorney
An Illinois man has been sentenced to 70 years in prison for the brutal 2021 murder of Esmeralda DeLuna, the mother of his children, just 10 days after she was granted an order of protection against him. Marco-Antonio Rubio, 29, was handed the sentence on September 11, following his guilty plea in March to one count of first-degree murder, according to a press release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The tragic incident occurred on May 21, 2021, when Rubio broke into DeLuna’s home in Villa Park and stabbed her multiple times while their three children, aged 1 to 6, were inside the residence. Police responded to a report of a disturbance at around 9:25 p.m. that night. Upon arriving at the apartment, officers heard crying from within and discovered DeLuna’s three young children, two girls and a boy, unharmed but terrified.
As officers searched the apartment, they found a trail of blood leading from the living room to the kitchen, where they found 24-year-old DeLuna lying on the floor. She had suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso, and an eight-inch butcher knife was found lodged in her leg. Despite being rushed to the hospital, DeLuna was pronounced dead the following morning.
Authorities soon uncovered that DeLuna had filed for and been granted an order of protection against Rubio just 10 days before the attack. The order, which had been served to Rubio on May 7, 2021, required him to move out of the home they had previously shared in Villa Park.
Following the murder, Rubio fled the scene but was arrested the next morning while wandering through the neighborhood. His swift capture and subsequent conviction brought some relief to the devastated family. In the wake of her tragic death, DeLuna’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses, describing their loss as “very inhuman and cruel.”
After the sentencing, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin remarked in a statement, “While what essentially amounts to a life sentence behind bars cannot erase the vicious murder of a loving mother, perhaps Esmeralda’s surviving family and friends can find some measure of solace knowing justice was delivered in Esmeralda’s name.” The tragic case underscores the dangers faced by victims of domestic violence and the importance of enforcement of protection orders.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
