Missing California girl, 5, found in Mexico after ‘dad kidnapped her killed her mom’
A missing five-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by her fugitive dad after he shot her mother has been found safe.
Ruben Fregoso, 40, was taken into custody in Mexico and his daughter Daleyza Fregoso was recovered following a two-week manhunt.
Fregoso allegedly killed the girl’s mother Marisol Garcia, 34, with little information being released about how she was slain.
Video footage showed the girl and her father in the process of crossing into Mexico from San Diego. Investigators said Fregoso allegedly made statements suggesting he planned to flee the country.
A vehicle the girl and Fregoso had been traveling in was found in San Ysidro, a San Diego border town. The pair had been last seen Sunday morning, May 24, near Alsace Avenue and Ferndale Street.
Daleyza, a U.S. citizen, is in the custody of Mexican officials and is in the process of returning to her home country with the help of the American embassy.
Fregoso will be extradited to the U.S. to face one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions other than great bodily injury or death. If convicted of all charges, he could face 25 years to life in prison.
“The killing of a mother and the abduction of a young child is the kind of violence that shocks the entire community,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement.
“I cannot imagine the grief and fear that the innocent child faced as she was allegedly snatched after her mother was killed. The defendant will face his day in court, and our Family Violence Division will pursue every available resource and work with federal and Mexican law enforcement authorities to seek justice for the woman whose life was stolen and for the child caught in this tragedy,” he added.
