Jose Lazaro Cruz, Arrested – According to a Monday news conference, a man wanted for the 1991 murder of his wife was extradited from Costa Rica earlier this month, ending his three-decade escape. Police said Jose Lazaro Cruz was caught in Costa Rica in 2022 and returned to Fairfax County, Virginia, this month to face trial for the 32-year-old murder. Whether Lazaro Cruz has an attorney is unknown. CNN asked the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney and Public Defender Office about his legal representation.
On April 30, 1991, Fairfax County police responded to a stabbing report and found 24-year-old Ana Jurado dead in the street from upper body injuries, according to deputy chief of investigation Eli Cory. According to Cory, Jurado’s ex-husband Lazaro Cruz left after authorities identified him as the killer. Cory said Lazaro Cruz was denied entry to Canada due to fraudulent papers, and border guards saw a “fresh cut” on his hand. After being denied entry to Canada, Lazaro Cruz fled to Houston, Texas, and is thought to have employed a smuggler to escape to El Salvador, according to Cory.
Cory stated that El Salvador had no extradition policies or processes to deport him to the US. Salvadorans could be extradited after a 2000 constitutional amendment. Jurado had three little children. Her 3- and 7-month-old daughters resided with her in the U.S., and her 4-year-old son lived in El Salvador when she died. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Lazaro Cruz was identified immediately and was only “on the lam.” Official charges are still being formed. Cory says Lazaro Cruz was detained entering Costa Rica on July 29, 2022. After the 1991 murder, Lazaro Cruz remarried and had six children, “definitely started a whole new life in El Salvador,” Cory said. Fairfax County Correctional Centre holds him awaiting trial.