State's Attorney outlines case timeline and urges changes to SAFE‑T Act after local domestic‑violence homicide
Loading...
Summary
State's Attorney Berlin presented a timeline of the Brian Hernandez case, saying statutory limits in the Pretrial Fairness (SAFE‑T) Act left certain offenses nondetainable and arguing that broader judicial discretion or reclassification of domestic‑violence offenses could have prevented the March 18, 2026 killing. Board members asked for data and pledged to pursue legislative options.
State's Attorney Berlin gave the DuPage County Board a detailed timeline of events that preceded the March 18, 2026 homicide of Estefania Abreu Hernandez and urged the board to support legislative changes to the Pretrial Fairness (SAFE‑T) Act.
“On 08/02/2025, the defendant was charged by the Lombard Police with interfering with a report of domestic violence…because interfering with a report of domestic violence is a nondetainable offense under the SAFE‑T Act, he was released on a recognizance bond,” Berlin told the board. He later said the defendant was charged with first‑degree murder after authorities allege he strangled the victim with an electrical cord on March 18.
State's Attorney Berlin argued that statutory limits on detainment meant judges lacked the authority to hold the defendant pretrial on the initial offense. “It is my belief that had interfering with a report of domestic violence been a detainable offense, there's a very good chance based on the defendant's history that he would have been detained and the victim would still be alive today,” Berlin said.
Berlin walked the board through intervening procedural steps: a previous 2023 guilty plea for harassment by electronic communication; a civil order of protection and criminal protective order served in November 2025; subsequent failures to appear and resulting warrants; and the use of petitions for sanctions (which carry a maximum sanction of up to 30 days in custody) when arrest on a warrant is impractical.
Board members pressed for more detail and data. Member Yu asked what occurred in the months between the issuance of warrants and the March homicide and whether law enforcement could have taken additional steps to locate and arrest the defendant. Berlin replied that warrants are numerous and police resources limited, and that failures to appear and warrants increased in the first year after the SAFE‑T Act's start.
Member Echoff asked whether the Pretrial Fairness Act is part of the SAFE‑T Act and whether DuPage data are comparable to other counties; Berlin confirmed it is part of the statewide SAFE‑T framework and said the 32 percent increase he cited applied to DuPage felony warrants issued for failures to appear.
Several board members proposed next steps. Member Desart and others asked whether the legislative committee could press for amendments and Berlin said he has been drafting and discussing potential language with legislators for several years. Chair Deborah A. Conroy suggested a narrower approach—reclassifying domestic‑violence offenses as detainable—if wholesale restoration of judicial discretion proves politically difficult.
Board members also discussed non‑legislative measures: Member Yu and others asked about policing and warrant‑execution capacity, and Member Glassy and Member Ekoff raised judicial training and victim‑advocate resourcing as potential short‑term improvements.
Berlin said his office would work with board members and the county’s legislative committee and provide draft amendment language and any relevant data they request. The discussion closed with the board directing staff and the legislative committee to carry the issue forward.
