# Serial rapist deported to Mexico, then extradited to US, convicted of brutal 2002 Washington cold-case murder

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/serial-rapist-deported-to-mexico-then-extradited-to-us-convicted-of-brutal-2002-washington-cold-case-murder/
- Published: 2026-11-04T06:55:53+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T04:09:25+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/04/us-news/miguel-urbano-vazquez-found-guilty-of-2002-sharon-van-gilder-murder-and-tacoma-rapes-after-extradition-from-mexico/
- Topics: Americas, World

## Key points

- A jury convicted Urbano-Vazquez of a 2002 murder and three rapes.
- DNA evidence linked him to Sharon Van Gilder’s cold-case killing.
- He faces life without parole, with sentencing set for 11 December.

## Summary

Miguel Urbano-Vazquez has been convicted of murdering Sharon Van Gilder and raping three other women in Tacoma in 2002. His conviction followed his extradition from Mexico, where he had been living after being deported from the United States, bringing a long-running cold case to trial.

Van Gilder, a 39-year-old mother of two, was raped and strangled after leaving a bar; her body was found on a country road, and DNA evidence later linked Urbano-Vazquez to her. Prosecutors also connected him to three rapes that year, some involving other men. He was located in Mexico in 2019, arrested by the FBI in 2023 and extradited to Pierce County in 2025. The jury’s aggravated first-degree murder verdict means life in prison without parole; sentencing is scheduled for 11 December.

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