A husband accused of stabbing his ex-wife to death in Virginia was arrested while trying to enter Costa Rica after more than 30 years on the run, and was returned to the United States to face murder charges, police said.
José Lázaro Cruz was turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday and booked into a northern Virginia jail, Fairfax County police announced at a news conference Monday.
“This really is not a traditional cold case. It was resolved pretty much immediately,” said Fairfax County Sheriff Kevin Davis. “He was a fugitive, he was fleeing. “He avoided accountability for something he did almost 33 years ago.”
Cruz was 24 years old when he was identified as the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, Ana Jurado, on April 30, 1991, in West Falls Church.
Less than two weeks later, detectives obtained a felony murder warrant for Cruz, but he evaded arrest by fleeing the country across the southern border with the help of a smuggler, leaving behind his three young children, including a baby.
The fugitive was tracked to El Salvador, but could not be brought to justice because the Central American country did not have an extradition mechanism at that time that would allow his forced return to the United States.
José Lázaro Cruz has been extradited to Virginia to face charges for the murder of his wife in 1991. Fairfax County Police Department Ana Jurado, 24, a married mother of three, was stabbed to death outside her home in West Falls Church, Virginia. Fairfax County Police
“We believe he started a whole new family in El Salvador,” said Lt. Col. Eli Cory of the Fairfax County Police Department.
Police said Cruz worked as a truck driver to support his second wife and several children.
“Thirty years later, I imagine he probably got a little comfortable, thought he was moving on… which helped us track him down,” Cory said.
In 1999, police detectives traveled from Virginia to El Salvador to gather information about Cruz that ultimately helped secure his arrest.
Cruz was captured while trying to enter Costa Rica in 2022 and was turned over to the US Marshals Service on Thursday. NBC/Fairfax County Police Cruz was 24 years old when he allegedly killed his ex-wife and fled town, leaving behind his three young children. Fairfax County Police Department
In 2022, Cruz was crossing into Costa Rica from Nicaragua to visit his family when local authorities detained him and then alerted the Department of Justice.
After an extradition process that lasted a year and a half, the fugitive finally returned to American soil.
He is currently being held in the Fairfax County Jail while awaiting trial.
“We have never forgotten the family,” Chief Davis said, referring to the victim’s loved ones. “We have never forgotten the seriousness of this senseless crime and we never stopped.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn