Crime & Safety
Murder Trial in Stabbing Death Set for March
More than three years after the death of 18-year-old Felix Jimenez, family and friends are now just months from the trial of his accused killer, Derek Grib.
Three years after the stabbing death of Felix Jimenez, family and friends might finally get the closure they so long.
They will have to wait until March for the trial of Derek Grib, the man accused of killing 18-year-old Jimenez in July 2009. Judge Frank Zelezinski ruled Jan. 3 that the trial will take place March 25.
The trial had previously been delayed again in December.
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Prosecutor Rob Holland said in August that he truly believed the trial would take place in October, said Jimenez's mother, Teresa Rivera, months ago.
Grib is accused of fatally stabbing Jimenez, an Oak Forest High School graduate who had military aspirations, at a party in Oak Forest on July 12, 2009. Jimenez died shortly after midnight the next day.
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The trial has been delayed multiple times, due to a backlog of murder trials in the Cook County courts system, Holland said. The Markham District Courthouse is "drowning in murders," dating as far back as 2007 and 2008, he said.
Grib has waived his right to a jury trial. Judge Zelezinski will deliver the final verdict.
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