Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 12

Maria Narez Captured in Mexico After 30 Years in 3-Year-Old Daughter's Texas Murder Case

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 12

Maria Narez Captured in Mexico After 30 Years in 3-Year-Old Daughter's Texas Murder Case

Q: What sudden breakthrough led international authorities to capture a fugitive mother 30 years after she vanished before her murder trial?

There was no publicly disclosed single “sudden breakthrough.” Authorities said Maria Narez was found and arrested in Mexico after a renewed joint international effort involving Mexican Interpol, the U.S. Marshals Service’s Mexico Foreign Field Office, the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and Tarrant County investigators. Based on the information released, the key development was coordinated cross-border work that finally located her in Mexico nearly 30 years after she fled before trial in the 1996 killing of her 3-year-old daughter, Kasandra White. Prosecutors credited that multinational cooperation, along with the persistence of local investigators and prosecutors, for ending the decades-long manhunt. Officials have not publicly explained exactly how they tracked her down, where in Mexico she was located, or what specific lead triggered the arrest. What is clear is that the case remained active for years and that authorities continued pursuing extradition until they were able to take her into custody.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 12

48-year-old Maria Narez was taken into custody in Mexico on Saturday, ending nearly 30 years as a fugitive in a Texas capital murder case tied to the 1996 death of her 3-year-old daughter, Kasandra L. White.
Tarrant County records say Narez was arrested in 1996, then released after her bail was cut from $500,000 to $25,000 despite conditions including electronic monitoring, no contact with minors and monthly drug tests.
An April 1997 grand jury indictment cleared the case for trial, but by Aug. 28, 1997, her bondsman said he could not reach her; a judge issued an arrest warrant and later forfeited her bond.
The capture followed a joint effort involving Mexico Interpol, the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security, the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and Tarrant County investigators.
Narez is expected to be extradited to Texas, where prosecutors say they never stopped pursuing the capital murder charge over her daughter's death.