After years on the run, a man wanted in 1991 for the murder of his estranged wife in Virginia was apprehended in Costa Rica.

Authorities in Costa Rica said on Monday that a man wanted in relation to the 1991 murder of his estranged wife in northern Virginia has been apprehended and extradited to the United States.

Authorities in Costa Rica said on Monday that a man wanted in relation to the 1991 murder of his estranged wife in northern Virginia has been apprehended and extradited to the United States.

According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Jose Lazaro Cruz was apprehended in Costa Rica in 2022 after spending thirty years on the run. He was later brought back to the United States to stand trial for murder earlier this month. Lazaro Cruz is charged with killing Ana Jurado, his 24-year-old wife, in West Falls Church, Virginia, a town east of Arlington, in 1991.

In the Fairfax County Correctional Center, Lazaro Cruz is being held pending trial.

In the Fairfax County Correctional Center, Lazaro Cruz is being held pending trial.

Jose Lazaro Cruz is the person suspected of stabbing his estranged wife.

Jose Lazaro Cruz is the person suspected of stabbing his estranged wife.

According to Eli Cory, the deputy chief of investigation for Fairfax County, Jurado was discovered “lying on the curb of the street” with upper body damage on April 30, 1991, after police responded to an allegation of a stabbing. Jurado was pronounced dead at the site by emergency officials.

According to Cory, Jurado was the mother of three children. Her 4-year-old son lived in El Salvador, while her 3-year-old and 7-month-old girls were living with her in the United States at the time of her death.

Witnesses, according to Cory, claimed to have heard a scream and seen a man who fit Lazaro Cruz’s 24-year-old description leaving the area. Police reported on May 10, 1991, that detectives had obtained a felony murder warrant for Cruz.

According to Cory, Cruz tried to leave the nation by crossing into Canada, but his false identification prevented him from entering.

“When the border agents pushed him away and sent him back into United States, they noticed that there was a what appeared to be a fresh cut to Mr. Cruz’s hand,” Cory stated. “From there, we believe Mr. Cruz fled on a bus to Houston, Texas.”

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Suspect moved to El Salvador and started a new life.

Lazaro Cruz, according to Cory, managed to enter El Salvador illegally and establish himself there with the assistance of a smuggler. Cory claimed that El Salvador had no procedures in place at the time to extradite persons wanted by the US.

According to the police, detectives searched for Lazaro Cruz for years and even traveled to El Salvador.

According to a news release from Fairfax County Police, “they gathered crucial information regarding Lazaro Cruz’s whereabouts during this trip and their meticulous efforts continued to lay the foundation for a thorough investigation.”

Investigators, according to Cory, think Lazaro Cruz began a “whole new life” in El Salvador. According to Cory, he had remarried, had multiple kids, and was employed as a truck driver.

Lazaro Cruz was arrested by the government in 2022 while attempting to enter Costa Rica. Following an arduous extradition procedure, he was finally brought back to face charges in Fairfax County, and on January 18, he turned himself into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.