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Suspect arrested 20 years to the day after 15-year-old Arizona girl was murdered
A man has been arrested on murder charges exactly 20 years after he allegedly killed a 15-year-old girl in Phoenix, Arizona, authorities said.
Officers identified Sergio Reyes, now 37, as a suspect in 2014 — a decade after the murder — but he was living in Mexico at the time, police said. Investigators worked with the U.S. Marshals Service in the following years to locate and extradite Reyes. He was booked into Maricopa County Jail on Wednesday on charges stemming from the July 10, 2004 death of Elena Lasswell.
“It’s been 20 years to the day 15-year-old Elena Lasswell was murdered inside her home. So it’s a big day not only for the Phoenix Police Department, but more importantly Elena’s family,” Det. Dominick Roestenberg said in a video posted to the department’s Facebook page. “They’ve been waiting 20 years for justice. So it took a while, but through perseverance and hard work and dedication, we were able to get Sergio Reyes back to Phoenix to face charges.”
Lasswell died in her own home, despite efforts by first responders to save her life, police said in a press release. In the immediate aftermath of her death, detectives were unable to find any “direct information as to who killed Lasswell.”
Cold case detectives in 2012 used DNA collection techniques to identify a profile matching Reyes and the following year he was confirmed as the lead suspect in Lasswell’s death. A Maricopa County Grand Jury in 2014 indicted Reyes while he was living in Mexico.
Jail records show bond was set at $1.5 million. Reyes is set to appear in court July 17 on charges of murder in the 1st degree during a crime, sexual assault, murder in the 1st degree- premeditated, burglary in the 2nd degree and kidnapping.
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At least 17 killed in 2 mass shootings in the same town in South Africa; search underway for suspects
Seventeen people were killed in two mass shootings that took place in close proximity to each other in a rural town in South Africa, police said Saturday.
A search was underway for the suspects, national police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe said in a statement. The victims were 15 women and two men, she said. One other person was in critical condition in the hospital.
The shootings took place Friday night in the town of Lusikisiki in Eastern Cape province in southeastern South Africa. Video released by police showed that the shootings occurred at two houses in the same neighborhood, which is a collection of rural homesteads on the outskirts of the town.
Twelve women and a man were killed in one house and three women and a man were killed in the other house, police said.
“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend those behind these heinous killings,” Mathe said.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, and mass shootings have become increasingly common in recent years, sometimes targeting people in their homes.
Earlier this month, unknown gunmen shot dead seven members of the same family, including three children, in an execution-style killing in their home in rural South Africa, police said.
Last year, seven women and three men – all from the same family – were fatally shot outside the South African city of Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, police said. The youngest victim was a 13-year-old boy.
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At least 17 killed in 2 mass shootings in the same town in South Africa; search underway for suspects
How author V.E. Schwab is redefining the fantasy genre
Dozens dead and millions without power after Helene's deadly march across southeastern US