On March 6, a jury convicted Jesus Vargas, 33, of first-degree murder in connection with a 2022 stabbing of a Grayslake man.

The jury trial began March 2 and lasted five days.

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Brooke Wanzenberg, Daniel Lenzini and Russel Caskey, according to a news release. Prosecutors called more than a dozen witnesses, including law enforcement officers, medical personnel and expert witnesses.

Vargas was first charged in February 2022, after Round Lake Beach Police and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force responded to the 2000 block of Apache Trail in Round Lake Beach. When officers arrived, they found Brian Mahdee, 37, with several stab wounds on his body and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.

At the trial, law enforcement testified that when they first arrived at the scene, Vargas had wounds to his arm that were not life-threatening. An eyewitness told jurors that Vargas inflicted the wounds on himself in an attempt to make it appear that he had acted in self-defense after being attacked by the victim, according to the release.

The witness also described how Vargas attacked Mahdee while Mahdee was seated and using his phone. Witnesses also said that after the attack, Vargas tried to clean up the scene and asked others present not to call the police.

Investigators testified that during the interrogation, Vargas gave several inconsistent statements and claimed to the police that he was defending himself. Investigators explained how evidence showed that Vargas attempted to stage the scene to support that claim. Expert testimony further established that the DNA recovered from the weapon was inconsistent with Vargas’s self-defense claim.

Medical personnel determined that Mahdee suffered more than 40 stab wounds throughout his body.

The defense called two witnesses, including Vargas. During his testimony, Vargas again provided statements that were inconsistent with prior versions of events.

Vargas is facing a potential life sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections after the jury also found that the murder was accompanied by “exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty.”

Vargas’ next court hearing is scheduled for April 28 for a status hearing.