Bride found stabbed to death after wedding

A newlywed bride has been found stabbed to death in her wedding dress in the bathtub of her suburban Chicago apartment.

Police said they believe she was a victim of domestic violence.

Estrella Carrera, 25, got married on Friday to the father of her youngest child, her family said.

Officers arriving at Carrera's apartment in Burbank, found her dead of stab wounds in a dry bath tub. She was still wearing her wedding dress.

"We never thought this would happen. She was a strong woman ... She loved her kids," said Carrera's cousin Jaime Lopez, 27. "Reality still hasn't hit me."

Carrera had gotten married to the father of her son but told few people, according to another cousin, Sandy Lopez.

Carrera called Sandy Lopez, 30, on Friday, sounding happy and inviting her to a party. But she said nothing about a wedding.

"She didn't want to tell me she had gotten married," said Sandy Lopez, who did not attend the party. "She didn't tell anybody besides her father the day before."

Carrera and the man had had an on-and-off relationship for about three years, according to relatives.

Carrera left her children with her father. When she failed to check in or pick them up, relatives went to her apartment on Saturday and knocked on the door but got no answer, Jaime Lopez said. Her car was not parked outside, she said.

The cousins said Carrera was a strong, independent woman who worked as a Spanish language translator for a social welfare agency.

"She was a beautiful mother, person, sister," Sandy Lopez said.

Carrera and her 30-year-old boyfriend applied for a marriage licence on May 2, authorities said.

Carrera did not yet have a marriage certificate on file, according to the Cook County clerk's office.

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