Cicero Police Hunt Venezuelan Man Wanted in Strangling Death of Eduardo Martinez

Cicero police are searching for a 35-year-old Venezuelan native wanted on first-degree murder charges in the death of 40-year-old Eduardo Martinez, whose body was found on his bedroom floor by friends after he failed to show up for work. Investigators say Jonathan Carvillo-Varela is now wanted in connection with Martinez's death, which happened in Cicero.

According to WGN-TV, officers were sent to the 2800 block of South Cicero Avenue just before 1:30 p.m. on August 28, 2025, after Martinez's friends went to his home when he did not show up for work and did not answer his phone. Once inside, they found him dead, and detectives noted signs of a struggle in his room, police said. Investigators also said Martinez had head injuries when he was discovered.

The picture of what happened to Martinez grew clearer weeks later. An autopsy conducted by the Cook County Medical Examiner in September 2025 determined that Martinez died from strangulation, according to CBS News, expanding on the initial signs of trauma investigators had described at the scene.

From Surveillance Leads to a Murder Warrant

Before Carvillo-Varela was identified and charged, Cicero detectives had turned to the public for help. During the early stages of the investigation in September 2025, detectives obtained surveillance footage showing two unidentified men using Chicago public transit who were sought as persons of interest in Martinez's death, per FOX 32 Chicago. That outlet reported detectives noted the men frequently traveled on regional transit as they worked to identify them.

That early appeal for public assistance has since given way to a formal murder warrant. The Cicero Police Department announced that Carvillo-Varela is wanted for first-degree murder in connection with Martinez's death, per the WGN-TV report. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Gomez or Detective Barona, both of whom work for the Cicero Police Department, and tips can also be submitted using the tip411 app or by calling the department's non-emergency line at 708-652-2130. Cicero also maintains a separate 24-hour confidential tip hotline at 708-863-COPS (2677), according to the Town of Cicero.

What Illinois Law Says About the Charge

If Carvillo-Varela is eventually convicted, Illinois law leaves little room for a light sentence. Under statute 720 ILCS 5/9-1, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory prison term of 20 to 60 years, with extended terms of 60 to 100 years or natural life imprisonment possible if specific aggravating factors are proven, according to the Stavros Law Offices. Illinois eliminated the death penalty for state crimes in 2011, making those terms the harshest available outcomes.

The state's truth-in-sentencing law also strips away any chance of early release. Under 730 ILCS 5/3-6-3, people convicted of first-degree murder in Illinois receive no sentence reduction credits and must serve 100% of whatever term a court imposes, per the Law Office of Clyde Guilamo. It remains unclear where Carvillo-Varela currently is or whether he has left the country, and the dossier does not indicate whether federal agencies are assisting Cicero detectives in the search.

A Town With a String of Recent Violent Cases

Cicero, a densely populated Cook County municipality of 85,268 residents covering 5.87 square miles bordering Chicago's West Side, has an 89% Hispanic or Latino population, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by Wikipedia. It is the 11th largest municipality in Illinois, and its police department has been working several serious violent crime cases in recent months.

Cicero police were also investigating a teen's fatal shooting on South 59th Avenue in January 2026, a case in which no arrests were immediately made. The department has also shown a willingness to pursue cases across long stretches of time and distance: Cook County prosecutors and Cicero police charged a suspect in a 1995 double homicide involving two Marine brothers in April 2025 following an international extradition from Mexico, as Hoodline previously reported.

The department overseeing the Martinez investigation has recently seen changes at the top. First Deputy Superintendent Luis Gutierrez departed in February 2026 after eight years in senior command to become Administrator for Court Security Services for Cook County, according to the Town of Cicero. Town President Larry Dominick, a former Cicero police officer and deputy superintendent sworn in for a historic sixth term in May 2025, has directed the town's public safety and police operations for more than 20 years, making him the longest-serving town president in Cicero's history.