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Woman killed in knife attack on Chicago train platform, named ex-boyfriend as killer before death – Samantha Maldonado broke up with Alejandro Arellano a week earlier

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Alejandro Arellano, 31, was arrested in Chicago on Sunday one count of first-degree murder for killing Samantha Maldonado

26-year-old Maldonado, an engineer who migrated from Ecuador a few years ago and Arellano were co-workers who dated for six months before breaking up last week

Former couple were spotted Saturday night sitting at Miller’s Pub in downtown Chicago before, Maldonado was seen fleeing from the bar, with Arellano in close pursuit around 1.20am

Surveillance camera caught Arellano take out a folding knife, extending the blade, then putting it back in his pocket

Maldonado who was knifed in the chest, stomach and left arm collapsed in the middle of the street while Arellano boarded a train and headed home

Before she died the victim identified ​the assailant as her ex-boyfriend, giving his full name to paramedics called to the scene

Suspect was wearing the same blood covered clothes and shoes, murder weapon in his pocket, when arrested outside his home 14 hours later

Samantha Maldonado [photo], was killed in a knife attack on a Chicago train platform on Saturday night. Before she expired the 26-year-old engineer told paramedics the assailant was her ex-boyfriend Alejandro Arellano

A Chicago man has been charged with murder for the savage stabbing of his ex-girlfriend on a train platform after the victim named him as her attacker with her dying breath, police said.
Alejandro Arellano, 31, was taken into custody Sunday on one count of first-degree murder stemming from the killing of 26-year-old Samantha Maldonado.
“A key piece of evidence in this case came from the victim herself: She named Arellano as the offender before she succumbed to her injuries,” First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said during a press conference Monday announcing the charges, reported ABC 7 Chicago.
According to prosecutors, Arellano and Maldonado were co-workers who had been in a relationship for about six months before breaking up last week.
In the early hours of Saturday, the former couple were observed sitting in the corner at Miller’s Pub in Chicago’s downtown Loop neighborhood.
Shortly before closing time around 1:20 a.m., Maldonado was seen running out of the bar, with Arellano following close behind her.
She tried to find refuge from her pursuer on a platform at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) station at Wabash Avenue and Adams Street.

Alejandro Arellano [photo], was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Samantha Maldonado. 14 hours after the stabbing he was arrested still wearing the same bloody clothes and shoes, with the bloody murder weapon still in his pocket

As he was chasing the fleeing woman, a surveillance camera caught Arellano take a folding knife out of his pocket, extending the blade, then put it back in his pocket.
Maldonado attempted to hide behind a CTA equipment box and then board an arriving train, but according to prosecutors, her ex-boyfriend thwarted her attempt by pushing her away from the open doors.
The train then departed the station, leaving Maldonado alone with Arellano on the platform. As seen on surveillance video, prosecutors said, Maldonado tried to walk away, and that is when Arellano allegedly attacked her.
“As the defendant approached the victim from behind, he grabbed her neck and shoulder area and stabbed her multiple times,” Cook County State’s Attorney Anne McCord said during Arellano’s initial court appearance Monday.
Maldonado was knifed at least four times, including in the chest, stomach and left arm, WTTW reports.
A mortally injured Maldonado was able to pull away from her attacker and stumble down the stairs while bleeding from her wounds and gasping for air.

Arellano and Maldonado were co-workers and in a relationship for six months before breaking up last week

While Arellano boarded a train and headed home, his ex-girlfriend collapsed in the middle of the street
Witnesses, among them security guards from Miller’s Pub, rushed to the woman’s aid. Prosecutors said that when they asked her who had stabbed her, Maldonado allegedly replied, “Alejandro.”
The woman also reportedly identified ​her former boyfriend as the culprit by his full name to paramedics who were called to the scene.
Maldonado was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Less than 14 hours later, police acting on the tip received from the victim in her final moments busted the 31-year-old Arellano outside his home in the 1600 block of North Kimball Avenue.
Prosecutors said he was wearing the same clothes he had on during the stabbing, and he still had the murder weapon in his pocket. Arellano’s pants, shoes and knife were found to be covered with blood. Police recovered a folding knife with blood and tissue on the blade from his pocket.
Maldonado’s family members said the woman was an engineer who had moved from her native Ecuador to Chicago in search of a better life less than a year ago.
Maldonado’s cousin told ABC 7 that her family members are glad that with her dying breath she was able to share vital information that resulted in her suspected killer’s swift arrest.
“We’re just really grateful that we’re able to have an answer,” the relative said. “It helps the family feel more at peace.”
In his police interview, Arellano allegedly identified himself in the surveillance video taken from the crime scene, and told detectives that he had argued with the woman seen in the footage and “poked” her once with a knife, but didn’t remember any more stab wounds.
Arellano has been ordered held without bond. He is due back in court on March 31.

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