Migrant sentenced to 10 years for nearly killing mother of his children inside Logan Square laundromat

Luis Lira-Hernandez (Chicago Police Department, Google)

A Venezuelan migrant has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to trying to kill the mother of his children inside a Logan Square laundromat.

Luis Lira-Hernandez, 35, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated domestic battery in exchange for the sentence from Judge Aleksandra Gillespie, according to court records.

Chicago police bulletins identified Lira-Hernandez as the man who stabbed and seriously injured a woman inside Bubbleland laundromat, 2249 North Milwaukee Avenue, around 6 p.m. on October 15, 2023. He was not arrested until nearly six months later.

A CPD bulletin distributed to officers almost immediately after the stabbing identified Lira-Hernandez by name and said the 25-year-old victim was the mother of his children. The message, shared with CWBChicago by a source, included pictures of him holding a child.

According to the document, the pair were recently arrived Venezuelan migrants living at O’Hare International Airport, where hundreds of migrants were housed at the time. The bulletin said the woman had been stabbed “numerous” times during an argument “over domestic related circumstances.” It also included a photo of a weapon resembling a fillet knife with a large handle.

Police said “multiple citizens” saw Lira-Hernandez run from the scene and try to hide. Officers set up a perimeter and brought in a canine unit, but he managed to escape that night.

Judge Gillespie sentenced Lira-Hernandez to ten years on the attempted murder charge and seven concurrent years for the domestic battery count. His parole date has not been set.

Tim Hecke is CWBChicago's managing partner. He started his career at KMOX, the legendary news radio station in St. Louis. From there, he moved on to work at stations in Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City. Tim went on to build syndicated radio news and content services that served every one of America's 100 largest radio markets. He became CWBChicago's managing partner in 2019. His email address is tim@cwbchicago.com