Woman Stabbed In Apartment, Husband Sought

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 17, 2008 4:55PM

A Cicero woman was found stabbed to death in her apartment and authorities are searching for her husband, who may have also abducted the couple's baby daughter, as a "person of interest" in the crime. Yesenia Villalba-Honorato, 21, was found stabbed in her apartment in the 5500 block of West 18th Street Wednesday evening and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 8 p.m. It's unclear how long ago the crime may have taken place. Neighbors entered the home after not having seen Yesenia for several days and found her in the bathroom with multiple stab wounds. Police are searching for her husband, Mario Puente, 29, who was reportedly seen in the Denver area on Tuesday. Police believe Puente has their daughter, 11-month-old Leslie Puente, with him and an Amber Alert may be issued at some point today; as of this morning, one had not been issued. According to Cicero police, Puente (pictured right) is listed as a 5-foot-9 to 6-foot, 185-pound Hispanic man. He may be traveling in a grey or green 1999 Ford Explorer with Illinois plates X143269 or X143266. [Trib, S-T]