The victim, Esperanza Medina, 50, was permanently scarred in the attack on West Altgeld. Medina spoke with ABC7 about her ordeal last week.
During her 15 minutes on the stand, Medina recounted on the morning of July 28, 2008. She said that after she left her Logan Square apartment to go to work, someone behind her said, "hey, this is for you," and when she turned around, a girl threw what she thought was hot coffee on her.
Medina was hit on the back of the head and fell to the ground thinking, "if I get up, they're going to kill me."
Medina said she stumbled back into the apartment and knew by the way her boyfriend looked at her that the liquid was not coffee. While she testified, Medina fixed her eyes on the two defendants.
"I didn't do nothing to them," said Medina. "And just to let them know: I'm still alive."
Medina wore a low-cut, sleeveless dress so that her scars were on display. Over 25 percent of her body was burned in the attack that, according to prosecutors, was motivated by jealousy, because she was dating the ex-boyfriend of both defendants.
"I want to show that this type of crime should not be tolerated. These are the scars people get and probably worse and it hurts and it's going to be for life," said Medina. "This is for life no matter what the jury will do. This will be for life."
Medina was the last witness of the day on Tuesday, which was the second day of the trial.
The prosecution is expected to wrap up Wednesday. It's not known if the defense will call any witnesses.
The defendants are charged with heinous battery and could face 45 years in prison if convicted.
Medina said she hasn't been able to work since the attack.
