Fugitive mom wanted in daughter’s Arizona murder used cartels to hide for years before capture in Mexico: feds
Anna Marlene Somoza has been arrested in Mexico after more than 12 years as a fugitive and is expected to be extradited to the United States to face first-degree murder charges in the 1997 death of her three-year-old daughter, Crystal Reyes. US authorities said Somoza’s links to drug cartels helped her evade capture; the case highlights how long it took investigators to identify the child’s remains and pursue the suspects.
Reyes suffered severe abuse before she died, according to the US Marshals Service, which said she was bound, suffocated and left in a sealed box. A hunter found bone fragments in Arizona in 1998, and DNA testing identified them as Reyes’ remains in 2014. Her mother’s former boyfriend, Avelino Tamala, was convicted of murder in 2016 and sentenced to life; Somoza had previously served eight years in prison on drug charges and was deported in 2008.
In short
- Anna Marlene Somoza was arrested in Mexico after more than 12 years as a fugitive.
- She faces first-degree murder charges over her daughter’s 1997 death.
- DNA identified Crystal Reyes’ remains in 2014; her former partner was convicted.
Explained simply
The case concerns the death of Crystal Reyes, who was three when she died in Arizona in 1997. Her remains were found the following year, but investigators did not identify them as hers until DNA testing in 2014.
Reyes’s mother, Anna Marlene Somoza, and her former boyfriend, Avelino Tamala, were linked to the case. Tamala was convicted of murder in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison; Somoza is expected to be returned to the United States to face a murder charge.
The long gap between the discovery of the remains and their identification meant the case took years to pursue. US authorities say Somoza’s links to drug cartels helped her avoid capture after she was deported to Mexico.
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