Villa Park man sentenced to 70 years for stabbing mother of his three kids to death

VILLA PARK, Ill. — DuPage County prosecutors on Thursday announced a 70-year prison sentence for a Villa Park man found guilty of stabbing his girlfriend to death.

Marco-Antonio Rubio, 29, entered a blind plea of guilty to one count of first-degree murder in March 2024 following the May 2021 death of 24-year-old Esmeralda DeLuna, who prosecutors say was the mother of Rubio’s three children.

Villa Park officers responded to a disturbance call in the 300 block of N. Princeton Drive on May 19, 2021. Arriving officers found three small children, the youngest being 1-years-old and a trail of blood that led to DeLuna’s body in the kitchen.

Prosecutors said officers located DeLuna with an eight-inch butcher knife in her leg and a stab wound to her torso. Emergency crews rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Investigators soon learned that DeLuna had an active order of protection against Rubio, requiring him to move out of their N. Princeton Drive residence. Prosecutors add that DeLuna violated that order the day of the murder.

Officers took Rubio into custody the following morning, and he has remained incarcerated in DuPage County jail.

Rubio must serve 100 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.