Authorities in California say a man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife nearly two weeks after her body was found in Mexico.
According to the Press Enterprise, officials have identified the remains found on February 5 in Puebla Nueva as Rosa Isella Beltran Lopez, who had been reported missing about a week earlier.
In a statement on Friday, Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Vasquez said investigators believe she was kidnapped before she was murdered in northwest Mexico.
“Investigators worked with Calexico Police and learned the victim may have been kidnapped from the Jurupa Valley area prior to being killed,” the statement explained.
On February 18, Lopez’s husband, 44-year-old Juan Carlos Lopez Alvarado, was taken into police custody at his home in Riverside, but the arrest was not made public until the recent news release.
As of the latest updates available, law enforcement had not released a suspected motive for the murder. Details about the cause of death and how the body wound up in Mexico were also missing from initial reports.
The suspect remained behind bars as of the release of the news statement, as reported by the Mercury News. He is expected to face a criminal count of murder in connection with his wife’s death.
“There are no outstanding suspects, and no threat to public safety,” the sheriff’s office statement concluded. “This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call Investigator Martinez of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Jurupa Valley Station at (951) 955-2600.”
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