Man charged with wife’s 1991 killing in Virginia brought back to US to face charges
FAIRFAX, Va. — A man who fled the country after being accused of killing his wife more than three decades ago in northern Virginia has been sent back to the U.S. to face murder charges, police said Monday.
At a news conference Monday, Fairfax County police officers said Jose Lazaro Cruz was charged in the fatal stabbing of his wife, Ana Jurado, 24, in 1991 in West Falls Church.
But police said Lazaro Cruz, who was 24 years old at the time, fled the country through the southern border with the help of a smuggler and settled in El Salvador. At the time, El Salvador had no facilities to extradite suspects wanted by the US
Lazaro Cruz was arrested in 2022 while trying to enter Costa Rica. After a lengthy extradition process, he was returned to the US and is being held in the Fairfax County Jail as he awaits trial.
Police said detectives worked on the case for years, traveling to El Salvador in the 1990s to gather information that ultimately contributed to his arrest.
βHe avoided responsibility for something he did almost 33 years ago,β Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said. βWe have never forgotten the family. We have never forgotten the seriousness of this crime.β