Fugitive mother arrested in Mexico after decades-old Arizona child murder case
U.S. Marshals captured Anna Marlene Somoza in Mexico and will extradite her to face first-degree murder charges for the 1997 killing of her daughter, Crystal Reyes.
Anna Marlene Somoza, wanted for the 1997 murder of her three-year-old daughter Crystal Reyes, was arrested in Xochitepec, Mexico, by U.S. Marshals after more than a decade evading capture with the help of cartel networks. Reyes endured severe abuse, including confinement in a dog kennel and eventual suffocation with a towel inside a sealed cardboard box, according to the Marshals Service. Bone fragments found in Arizona in 1998 were later linked to Reyes through forensic DNA analysis in 2014, prompting murder charges against Somoza and her boyfriend Avelino Tamala, who was convicted in 2016.
Somoza had previously served eight years in federal prison for drug offenses and was deported in 2008. Authorities now plan to extradite her, a process that may be prolonged by Mexican amparo appeals. Experts note that modern mandatory-reporter laws might have prevented such abuse in the future.
Why it matters
The case highlights cross-border law-enforcement challenges and the lasting impact of child abuse investigations.
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