Lombard woman pleads guilty to strangling mother after argument

A west suburban woman has pleaded guilty to murdering her mother last year at their Lombard home.

Stephanie DeFalco, 29, entered a guilty plea Wednesday to one count of first-degree murder, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

DeFalco is accused of strangling her mother shortly before 6:30 p.m. on March 20, 2018, after the pair argued in their home in the 100 block of Grace Street in Lombard, the state’s attorney’s office said. Officers found Judith DeFalco, 61, dead in her bedroom.

The daughter was taken into custody the next day, the state’s attorney’s office said. Prosecutors also accused her of stealing her mother’s phone, jewelry and car as she left the home.

“For those who knew Judith this is a devastating loss,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said in the statement. “For her family however, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and raw emotions they are experiencing as they not only must continue their lives without Judith’s companionship, but also as they confront the fact that one of their own is responsible for her death.”

In exchange for the guilty plea, the state agreed to recommend a maximum sentence of 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for Stephanie DeFalco, prosecutors said. Her next court appearance is set for May 17.

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