Waukegan Resident Charged with Murder of His 6 Month-Old Son in Mount Prospect

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Adrian Chavez, charged with First Degree Murder connected to child abuse of his 6 month-old son, Zayden Chavez (SOURCE: Mount Prospect Police Department)
Adrian Chavez, charged with First Degree Murder connected to child abuse of his 6 month-old son, Zayden Chavez (SOURCE: Mount Prospect Police Department).

Mount Prospect Police Department on Tuesday evening, January 3, 2023 announced that on Monday, January 2, 2023, Mount Prospect Police Detectives arrested Adrian Chavez, 25 years old, of 340 North Oakwood Avenue, Waukegan; and charged him with First Degree Murder in connection with the death of his 6-month-old son Zayden Chavez. Adrian Chavez is accused of physically abusing Zayden to a point that led to his death.




According to Mount Prospect Police Department, police officers responded to a 911 call at approximately 3:41 p.m. on October 28, 2022, to an apartment in the 700 block of Dempster Street for a 4-month-old child who was not breathing. The child, later identified as Zayden Chavez, was transported to the hospital with serious injuries that were consistent with being physically abused. An investigation by the Mount Prospect Police Department revealed Zayden’s father, Adrian Chavez, physically abused Zayden. Mount Prospect Detectives worked closely with the Cook County State’s Attorney Office and medical staff at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago during the investigation.

Zayden remained under medical care until December 29, 2022, when he succumbed to his injuries and died. On December 31, 2022, the Cook County Medical Examiner ruled Zayden’s manner of death a homicide caused from complications of multiple injuries; child abuse. This ruling was consistent with evidence gathered by detectives throughout the investigation into Zayden’s injuries and death.

Chavez was taken to a bond hearing on January 3, 2023, where he was given no bond and remanded to the Cook County Jail. His next scheduled court date is set for January 27, 2023 at 9:00 AM in room 108 of the 3rd District Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.

The public is reminded that criminal charges are not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

— Mount Prospect Police Department




A six-month old Zayden Chavez died after a little more than two months after a rescue call at an apartment in the block of 700 Dempster Street in Mount Prospect.

Police, firefighters and paramedics from Mount Prospect responded about 3:40 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2022 to a report of a child, less than one year-old, that was not breathing at an apartment at the Birch Manor Condominiums.

Zayden Chavez, about 6 months old, was transported with life-threatening injuries to Northwest Community Hospital. He was later transferred to Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens’s Hospital of Chicago.




Zayden Chavez was pronounced dead at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens’s Hospital of Chicago about 10:59 p.m. Thursday, December 29, 2022.

The Cook County Medical Examiners Office released information about the case last weekend, stating that Zayden Chavez died of complications from multiple injuries caused by child abuse, and ruled the manner of death as a homicide.

The Mount Prospect Police Department is investigating the homicide. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was aware of the family. Initially, no arrests were made.




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