Man arrested in Costa Rica for allegedly killing his wife in Virginia over 30 years ago
01/23/2024 12:19 pm PST
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (TCD) -- A man was captured and extradited back to the United States nearly 33 years after he allegedly stabbed and killed his wife, then fled the country.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis announced in a press conference Monday, Jan. 22, that Jose Lazaro Cruz was captured in Costa Rica and brought back to Virginia to face charges for allegedly killing his wife, Ana Jurado.
Davis said this "wasn’t a typical cold case" because investigators identified Cruz as the suspect from the start and worked for years to apprehend him.
"He was on the lam," Davis said. "He avoided accountability for something he did nearly 33 years ago."
According to Lt. Eli Cory, on April 30, 1991, Fairfax County Police Department officers responded to Cofer Road in West Falls Church and found 24-year-old Jurado in the street suffering from stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses reportedly told police they heard screaming and identified the suspect as Cruz.
That night, Cruz, who was also 24 years old at the time, reportedly drove to the U.S.-Canada border and attempted to cross over, but border patrol stopped him because he allegedly used a fake ID. A border agent also reportedly noticed a fresh cut on his hand.
After being denied entry to Canada, he reportedly took a bus to Houston and crossed the border illegally into Mexico. Cory said investigators traced Cruz to El Salvador, but they couldn’t bring him back because El Salvador did not have an extradition agreement in place at the time.
A break in the case occurred in July 2022 when Cruz traveled to Costa Rica. He was detained and officials began the extradition process. He returned and was booked into the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Jan. 18.
Cory said in the press conference that Cruz "started a new life" in El Salvador. He reportedly worked as a truck driver, got remarried, and fathered several children.
Davis, the chief, said, "We will never forget. We have never forgotten. We’ve never forgotten the family. We’ve never forgotten the seriousness of this senseless crime, and we never stopped."
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