A husband accused of stabbing to death his estranged wife in Virginia has been arrested while trying to enter Costa Rica after more than 30 years on the run – and brought back to the US to face murder charges, police said.
Jose Lazaro Cruz was turned over to the US Marshals Service on Thursday and is being held at a Northern Virginia jail, Fairfax County police announced in a press conference Monday.
“This is really not a traditional cold case. It was resolved, almost, immediately,” said Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis. “He is on the lam, he is on the run. He is avoiding 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 at the West Falls Church.
Less than two weeks later, detectives obtained a felony murder warrant for Cruz, but he evaded capture by fleeing the country through the southern border with the help of a smuggler, leaving behind his three young children, including an infant.
The fugitive was traced to El Salvador, but he could not be brought to justice because the Central American country at the time did not have an extradition mechanism that would allow him to be forcibly returned to the US.
Jose Lazaro Cruz was extradited to Virginia to face charges in his wife’s 1991 murder. 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 that he started a whole new family in El Salvador,” said Lt. Col. Eli Cory, with 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 can imagine that he might have felt a little comfort, thinking he was moving forward… that helped us find him,” 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 arrested while trying to enter Costa Rica in 2022, and was handed over to the US Marshals Service Thursday. NBC/Fairfax County Police Cruz was 24 when he allegedly killed his estranged wife and skipped town, leaving their three young children behind. Fairfax County Police Department
In 2022, Cruz was crossing into Costa Rica from Nicaragua to visit family when he was accosted by local authorities, who then alerted the Department of Justice.
After the extradition process for a year and a half, the fugitive finally returned to US soil.
He is currently being held in the Fairfax County jail while he awaits trial.
“We never forget the family,” said Chief Davis, referring to the victims’ loved ones. “We never forget the seriousness of this senseless crime and we never stop.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
