Mother Accused of Killing Daughter Captured in Mexico After Decades on the Run

WHO:

NY Post - Anna Marlene Somoza was accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter, Crystal Reyes.

Fox News - Somoza, 60, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and is accused of first-degree murder.

Fox News - Somoza’s boyfriend at the time, Avelino Tamala, was also charged with first-degree murder. He was convicted in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison.

Fox News - Russell Lorfing, identified as a former federal prosecutor, described the extradition process to Fox News Digital.

Fox News - Stacy Vaughan, vice president of growth and prevention at Childhelp, said Reyes’ lack of school attendance may have kept the abuse from being detected.

WHAT:

Fox News - Mexican law enforcement officers arrested Somoza; the U.S. Marshals Service plans to work with the Mexican government to extradite her to the United States.

Fox News - The U.S. Marshals Service said Reyes endured severe abuse, torture and starvation. She was confined in a small dog kennel, bound by her hands and feet, gagged, and left for weeks at a time.

Fox News - The agency said Reyes was bound, suffocated with a towel taped over her face, and left to die inside a sealed cardboard box.

Fox News - Somoza had an extensive criminal history and connections to a major transnational drug-trafficking network operating along the southern Arizona border. Authorities said her cartel connections helped her evade capture.

Fox News - Somoza served eight years in federal prison and was deported. Investigators from five state and federal agencies later searched for her.

Fox News - Lorfing said extradition may take months or years if Somoza challenges the charges through an amparo, an appeal challenging fundamental constitutional rights. He said such appeals can pause the process.

WHERE:

Fox News - Reyes was killed in Arizona, and her remains were found in a deserted area of the state.

Fox News - Somoza was located in Cuernavaca and arrested in Xochitepec, Mexico.

WHEN:

Fox News - Investigators began looking into the case after a hunter found human bone fragments in November 1998.

Fox News - DNA analysis identified the remains as Reyes’ in August 2014; Somoza and Tamala were charged in December 2014.

Fox News - Authorities obtained an arrest warrant in October 2022. The search became a major case in 2026.

Fox News - Authorities learned Somoza was in Cuernavaca in early September and arrested her on Oct. 18.

Fox News - Somoza was deported in 2008; she had been a fugitive in Mexico for more than 12 years.

HOW:

Fox News - Detectives interviewed Reyes’ biological father and used his DNA to confirm her identity.

Fox News - After a 1993 arrest for selling and transporting marijuana, Somoza agreed to act as a confidential informant for an Arizona law-enforcement agency. The Marshals Service said she met Tamala through that arrangement and began “an improper romantic relationship.”

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 20:01 UTC)

Mexican authorities have arrested Anna Marlene Somoza, accused of killing her 3-year-old daughter, Crystal Reyes, in Arizona, and the U.S. Marshals Service plans to seek her extradition. Investigators say Reyes suffered severe abuse, torture and starvation before she was suffocated and left in a sealed cardboard box. Her remains were found in a deserted area after a hunter discovered bone fragments, and DNA later confirmed her identity. Somoza’s boyfriend, Avelino Tamala, was also charged with first-degree murder; he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Somoza was deported after serving eight years in federal prison and evaded capture in Mexico for more than 12 years. Authorities located her in Cuernavaca and arrested her in Xochitepec. A former federal prosecutor says extradition could take months or years if she challenges the process through an amparo appeal.