Woodstock man pleads guilty to murder in stepson's stabbing

WOODSTOCK – A Woodstock man who admitted to stabbing his stepson to death was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Victor M. Lopez, 49, 1780 Shelia St., pleaded guilty Wednesday to the second-degree murder of his stepson Mark A. Medina, 34, of Woodstock. In addition to prison time, he will serve two years of post-incarceration supervision. He will receive credit for the nearly three years he's served in the McHenry County Jail since his arrest.

McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather accepted the plea.

The incident was related to a domestic dispute between Lopez and Medina that became physical, according to the state's attorney's office. Lopez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in 2013 after Woodstock police picked him up from the hospital – where he was receiving treatment for facial injuries he suffered during the incident. Medical reports indicated that Lopez's eyes were swollen shut.

Medina died of multiple stab wounds, according to the McHenry County Coroner's Office.

Family members of Medina said he and Lopez did not get along and had a tense relationship because Medina thought Lopez abandoned his wife, Mary Medina, when she became ill. Mark Medina was his mother’s primary caretaker.

This was not Lopez’s first experience with the criminal justice system. He was previously charged with domestic battery that was later reduced to misdemeanor assault when he threw a beer bottle that hit Medina’s mother in the arm, according to a 2009 criminal complaint. He was sentenced to one year of supervision and was ordered to take anger and partner abuse counseling.

In 2002, Lopez was given supervision for misdemeanor battery when he punched a man in the face and kicked him.

Joseph Medina, Mark Medina’s brother, was present in court Wednesday to speak on his and his family's behalf.

He told the court he and his two brothers had a difficult upbringing, and Mark Medina felt the only way he could get attention from his mother was to get in trouble.

“One thing was for sure, we had each other,” Joseph Medina said.

In 1996, Mark Medina was acquitted of attempted first-degree murder by a McHenry County jury for reportedly shooting a man once in the chest. The then-16-year-old was found guilty of aggravated battery with a firearm and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Joseph Medina said prison took a toll on his brother. Years later, he married and had two kids. He said his brother, Mark Medina, told him he couldn’t be happier to have his own family.

“He told me he was going to be the father to his daughters that we never had,” he said.

He said his mother, Mary Medina, died in hospice care about a week later. She was in her room of the home at the time of the dispute, but was bedridden and needed around the clock care.

Maria Medina, Mark Medina’s sister-in-law, also was present in the courtroom but requested the state’s attorney’s office read her prepared statement. She said Mark Medina was a child that longed for respect and love, and no one ever showed him how to be a respectful young man.

“They say everyone deserves a second chance, and I get that, but where was Mark’s second chance,” Maria Medina said in her letter.