A man admitted Tuesday to helping his friend hide the body of a stabbing victim in a West Side apartment in 2013, and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.
Juan Ramos, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of concealing a homicidal death at a hearing before Judge Thomas Gainer Jr., who sentenced him to 42 months in prison, court records show.
Authorities said that in late August 2013, Benjamin Esquivel had sex with Burnadine Kinsey, stabbed her to death after a fight, and wrapped her in a sheet and a blanket before throwing her into a closet in the 4400 block of West Wilcox, the Sun-Times reported previously.
He then called Ramos, his friend, to ask for advice on how to dispose of the body, prosecutors claim. Surveillance cameras at an area Home Depot caught them buying tarps and duct tape, along with rubber gloves and a Sprite.
Ramos helped Esquivel, 22, wrap Kinsey’s body in the tarp and duct taped her head, torso and feet before putting her back into a closet in Esquivel’s home in the 4400 block of West Wilcox, prosecutors claim.
Esquivel and Ramos were out looking for dump sites when a relative found the body in the apartment three days later and called police, authorities said.
Prosecutors claimed the 49-year-old Kinsey — a grandmother and mother — was a prostitute, but her family insisted she spent her days taking care of her diabetic amputee younger brother.
Ramos, of the 2000 block of North Lamon, was given credit for 526 days spent in jail since his arrest, records show.
Esquivel is awaiting trial on charges of murder, armed robbery and concealing a homicidal death, court records show. He will next appear in court Dec. 1.
