Man sentenced to life in prison for murders of six family members in Gage Park
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Diego Uribe, the man convicted of killing six of his relatives in Gage Park nearly seven years ago, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.
Last month, a jury found Uribe guilty of first-degree murder in all six slayings. Cook County Judge Carol Howard sentenced him to life in prison on Monday.
On Feb. 4, 2016, six people – including two children – were murdered in their family home in Gage Park. Police were first called to the home in the 5700 block of South California Avenue for a wellbeing check. It turned into a multi-murder crime scene.
Six members of one family were found dead – 62-year-old Noe Martinez Sr.; his wife, 58-year-old Rosaura Martinez; their son, 38-year-old Noe Martinez Jr; their daughter 32-year-old Maria Herminia Martinez; and her two sons, 13-year-old Leonardo Cruz and 10-year-old Alexis Cruz. Most of the victims had been stabbed multiple times.
Investigators suspected at the time that the killer or killers knew the victims, because none of them were found restrained.
Four months later, police arrested Uribe and his then-girlfriend, Jafeth Ramos. They were charged with six counts of murder each.
Authorities said Uribe, a cousin and nephew of the victims, tried to take money from his family – but the robbery morphed into a rampage.
Investigators said DNA tests linked Uribe to the crime. They said cellphone records connected both Uribe and Ramos to the scene as well.
Both suspects confessed to police. The jury was able to watch a video of statements Uribe made while in custody.
Ramos agreed to a plea deal in exchange for her testimony against Uribe. On the stand, she described how Uribe methodically killed each victim.
Attorneys for Uribe said he could not have killed all six people by himself – instead suggesting that he was present when the family was killed in a robbery by four masked men.