Grayslake man faces murder charges in fatal Round Lake Beach stabbing

A 29-year-old Grayslake man was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a man found by police in the garage of a Round Lake Beach home Monday afternoon.

Jesus Vargas is being held at Lake County jail awaiting a bond hearing, said Sgt. Heather Cognac, a spokeswoman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

Authorities also publicly identified the victim as Brian Mahdee, 37, from Round Lake Beach.

Cognac said Vargas admitted to investigators that he stabbed Mahdee multiple times after a verbal fight. She said investigators believe the two men were in a romantic relationship.

Round Lake Beach police were called to a home on the 2000 block of Apache Trail around 3 p.m. Monday by a person who said there had been a stabbing.

When officers arrived they spoke to Vargas, who had multiple cuts on his body. Cognac said Wednesday witnesses who were in the home said Vargas cut himself multiple times after stabbing Mahdee, who was found dead in the garage, authorities said.

After speaking to officers at the Round Lake Beach home on Monday, Vargas was treated for minor injuries at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and released.

Cognac said investigators interviewed him again on Tuesday after he was out of the hospital.

The Lake County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy on Mahdee Tuesday. Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said preliminary autopsy results indicate he died from multiple stabbing injuries.