College student charged with murder of man he invited home for a drink

A 26-year-old Irving Park man faces a murder charge after prosecutors say he invited a man he met outside a neighborhood bar to his home to continue drinking — but wound up stabbing the man to death early Tuesday.

Raul Silveyra Jr., a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jasinto Ortiz, Cook County prosecutors said in court Wednesday at Silveyra’s bail hearing.

Prosecutors said Silveyra was on bond on a 2019 charge of reckless discharge of a firearm at the time of the stabbing, as well as being on supervision for two misdemeanor driving under the influence convictions.

Silveyra did not admit to the stabbing while in police custody but told investigators that Ortiz had punched him in the face when he told Ortiz to leave, according to prosecutors. They said he made attempts to clean up and conceal evidence, including the knife.

“Certainly, the defendant’s actions speak louder than his words,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said.

Judge Charles Beach III revoked Silveyra’s bond in the pending gun case and ordered him held on $200,000 bail in the murder case.

The pair allegedly met about 2:13 a.m. Tuesday outside Christina’s Place, 3759 N. Kedzie Ave., while Silveyra was smoking a cigarette. Ortiz had come to the bar and was denied entry by an employee because he was believed to be too drunk to be allowed inside, prosecutors said. Ortiz argued with the bar employee and Silveyra offered that they could keep drinking at his home, according to authorities.

Prosecutors said neighbors in Silveyra’s building in the 3700 block of North Sacramento awoke at various times that morning after hearing loud music and yelling. When one neighbor heard a loud noise, she went to a back window and looked out but didn’t see anything.

The woman’s doorbell then rang, and when she looked outside, she saw someone lying on the ground in front of the building. Believing it was Silveyra, she went to him but found it was Ortiz. She saw he was bleeding and began CPR, prosecutors said.

Officers responded about 3:45 a.m. and found Ortiz lying on the sidewalk with stab wounds to his abdomen, Chicago police said.

Ortiz, 38, of Belmont Central was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Following a blood trail to the back of the building, officers discovered additional blood at various locations outside the building and leading to Silveyra’s basement apartment, authorities said. Given keys by Silveyra’s father, they entered the apartment and found Silveyra locked in a bedroom. Prosecutors said he had injuries to his face that were consistent with being punched in the face.

Blood was found about the apartment, and a bloody sock and pair of shoes with blood on them were found in a garbage container, prosecutors said. After getting a search warrant, investigators found a knife “that appeared to have been wiped clean” wrapped in a sweatshirt and hidden in a crawlspace, prosecutors said.

In custody, Silveyra told detectives that Ortiz became upset and punched him twice in the face when he asked Ortiz to leave and that he pushed him out but “doesn’t remember anything after that,” prosecutors said.

An attorney for Silveyra told Judge Beach Silveyra was studying physical therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago and said his family “owned assets” in the community. His LinkedIn profile says he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at UIC.

Beach additionally ordered Silveyra to submit to electronic monitoring if he posts bond and set his next court date for Feb. 6.

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