Chicago father kills, nearly decapitates 2-year-old son because he couldn't sleep: Cops

Christal Hayes | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Chicago's homicides fell in 2017, but gang violence remains high Chicago ended 2017 with fewer homicides than the year before, but gang violence in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods kept the total number of killings above the 600 mark for only the second time in more than a decade.

A frustrated father who couldn't get to sleep killed and nearly decapitated his 2-year-old son because the boy was being noisy, according to Chicago police.

The "brutal and horrific" slaying caps off a violent month in the city, which included the killing of a high-ranking police commander just last week, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a Thursday evening news conference.

Rolando Ortiz, 37, fled in his car Wednesday after placing his son, Mateo Aguayo, in a garbage bag, police said. He was found 60 miles outside Chicago in the city of Kankakee, Ill. and arrested after a traffic stop.

He later confessed to the slaying, police said.

"Mateo wasn't old enough to make a bad decision. Mateo wasn't old enough to take the wrong path in life," Johnson said. "He was just an innocent kid whose trust in safety was betrayed by the one man that he should never have to question: His father."

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Police responded Wednesday afternoon to 911 calls and found a "gruesome scene," police Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan said.

Ortiz couldn't sleep and was frustrated, so he took the boy, held him down in their kitchen, grabbed a knife and cut the boy's throat, Deenihan said.

After Ortiz was found, he confessed to the killing, Deenihan said. Murder charges are pending in the case.

Deenihan said Ortiz and his wife have six other children and hopes the arrest will bring "some level of closure" to the family.

The slaying, while brutal, is just the latest in the city, which for years has been plagued by violence and homicides. So far this year, there have been 64 murders, according to city police data.

Last year, there were 650 murders throughout the city, which beat New York City and Los Angeles.

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