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Officials looking for suspect's parents

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By Dustin Lemmon | Thursday, December 13, 2007 |

Authorities have yet to find the parents or other legal guardians of a 16-year-old Moline boy facing a concealment of a homicide charge in Rock Island County.

The juvenile, Elazar Jose-Nicolas, who was previously identified by family friends, has been charged in connection with the Nov. 18 strangulation death of his brother’s ex-girlfriend, Christina Mejia, 22, of Rock Island. A judge in the case had asked the teen not be identified by name.

His brother, Osbaldo Jose-Nicolas, 22, of Moline is charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court with two counts of first-degree murder and felony concealment of a homicide. His sister, Irma Jose-Nicolas, 29, also of Moline, is charged with concealment of a homicide.

The teen, who has pleaded not guilty, made his second court appearance in juvenile court Wednesday where his trial was delayed to give attorneys more time and to possibly make contact with a guardian. His brother and sister are not his legal guardians, authorities said previously, and he is not a legal citizen of the United States.

His attorney, Herb Schultz, told Judge John McClean that the Mexican Consulate in Chicago has been in touch with the boy, but he doesn’t know whether they’ve made efforts to contact his family in Mexico. Efforts to reach the Mexican Consulate for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Both Schultz and Assistant Rock Island County State’s Attorney Jessie Guzman said they need more time to prepare for trial. The police are not finished with their reports and are waiting for test results on evidence taken to the state crime lab, they told the judge.

McClean set another hearing on the case for Jan. 9. The juvenile remains in custody at the Mary Davis Juvenile Detention Center in Galesburg.

According to Rock Island police, Osbaldo Jose-Nicolas strangled Mejia at her Rock Island apartment at 2512½

8½ Ave. He later allegedly received help from his brother and sister when burying Mejia off 206th Avenue North, not far from Exelon’s Quad-Cities Generating Station in Cordova, Ill.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at

(563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.

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