A woman has been arrested in connection to the gruesome murder of a 15-year-old girl - 10 years after the notorious crime took place.
Moriah Gonzales from Waxahachie, Texas, was stabbed to death in Ennis on 17 March 2012, with her body later burned before being dumped by the side of the road.
The charred body was found by the side of the road after she disappeared from her sister’s house.
Following forensic tests, the authorities identified the victim as the missing teenager.
Days later, the police identified Jose Manuel Alvarado, 29, and Jennifer Samantha Puente, 18, as the main suspects in the girl’s murder – with Puente having now been arrested.
At the time, the police said the pair were travelling in a 1994 Oldsmobile Bravada and were considered “armed and dangerous”.
On August 19 this year, over a decade since the crime, the Ennis Police Department (EPD) reported that they had received a call from the Texas Department of Public Safety informing them that the Mexican Federal Police had Puente in custody.
The US Marshal’s Service said they would confirm the detainee is indeed in Puente before starting the extradition process.
She was 18 years old at the time of Gonzales’ murder.
The other named suspect, Jose Alvarado, now 40, was arrested in March 2012 and is currently serving a 34-year prison sentence for the teenager’s death along with an additional 20 years for tampering with evidence.
EPD chief Dustin Munn said details of Puente’s arrest in Mexico have not yet been made public.
The victim’s sister, Danielle Gonzales, said the family is thrilled that the second suspect is now in custody, adding: “It just hit us all at once.
"We knew this day would come, but didn't know when."
The victim’s relationship to the two suspects is unknown.
The investigation is ongoing.
