Chicago couple charged with murder, accused of torturing 2-year-old to death

CHICAGO - A Chicago couple was charged on Tuesday and held without bail following their arrests on charges of first-degree murder in the death of the woman's 2-year-old daughter.

Prosecutors alleged on Friday that Milixen Ardon, 24, and Wilfredo Cruz, 43, of the 6600 block of South California Avenue, beat, malnourished, and “tortured” the woman’s daughter to death inside their Marquette Lawn apartment.

The pair were dating and lived together but Cruz was not the biological father of Ardon's daughter. Cruz’s wife told investigators that Cruz had a history of domestic abuse and she had previously obtained an order of protection against him.

Allison Zerais Ardon, 2, the daughter of the accused Milixen Ardon, died Tuesday morning as a result of multiple injuries consistent with child abuse, according to a statement from Chicago police and prosecutors.

We'll warn our readers that the allegations are graphic.

According to Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy, the final, fatal injury, allegedly caused by blunt force trauma, was a rupture to the girl’s stomach that allowed its contents to leak into the rest of her body.

You can read more of the court write-up and allegations from prosecutors at both WTTW's coverage and in the Chicago Tribune.^[1][2]

After hearing the state’s allegations, Judge Mary Catherine Marubio found the pair’s alleged crimes involved “exceptionally brutal and heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty."

Their next court date was scheduled for Nov. 9.

Notes & References