Fugitive Mother Captured in Mexico After Nearly 30 Years in Child Murder Case

A Cold Case That Refused to Go Cold

Crystal Reyes was bound, suffocated, and confined in a sealed box on January 30, 1997 — a death so horrific it would haunt investigators for nearly three decades. Now, the woman accused of being responsible for that unthinkable act has finally been caught. 60-year-old Anna Marlene Somoza was taken into custody on Sunday, October 19, in Xochitepec, Mexico. Her capture closes a chapter that began with the discovery of tiny bone fragments in an Arizona desert and stretched across decades of dead ends, cold trails, and relentless pursuit.

Authorities say Somoza gave birth to Crystal in 1993 in Nogales, Mexico. The birth was undocumented, and shortly after, Somoza took the child and went to Ahwatukee to live with her boyfriend, Avelino Tamala, who is not the girl's father. What followed behind closed doors was a nightmare. The young child was subjected to severe physical abuse, ultimately being confined to a small dog kennel. Throughout Crystal's brutally short life, Somoza and Tamala repeatedly tortured, starved, and abused Crystal as an infant and young girl.

Bone Fragments, DNA, and a Long Road to Identification

On November 30, 1998, human bone fragments were found by a hunter in a deserted area in Mobile, Arizona. The discovery was chilling, but identifying the remains would take years. The U.S. Marshals Service says the remains were unidentified for nearly two decades until August 2014, when a forensic DNA analysis matched the bone fragments to 4-year-old Crystal Reyes.

In 1999, Somoza and Tamala were arrested on drug and weapon offenses. Following their arrest, DNA was collected, and later forensic analysis of the bone fragments found in the Arizona desert could not eliminate Somoza as the maternal source. However, investigators lacked a DNA profile from Crystal's biological father. As a result, the case went cold while Somoza served an eight-year federal prison sentence. It was only after the biological father's DNA was eventually obtained that the identification could be confirmed — and the murder charges could finally move forward.

Indictment, Conviction, and a Fugitive Who Slipped Away

Somoza was released from prison in 2008 and deported to Mexico. In December 2014, Somoza and Tamala were indicted by a grand jury on first-degree murder charges in connection with the child's death. Tamala was located and arrested, but Somoza proved far more elusive. Tamala was convicted of killing Crystal in November 2016 and was sentenced to life in prison. He served eight years before being deported to Mexico.

Somoza was ultimately detained in Xochitepec, Mexico, by agents with Mexico's Attorney General's Office and Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection. The arrest was the result of sustained cross-border cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement — a reminder that international fugitives are rarely beyond reach forever. Authorities said they will continue coordinating efforts to secure Somoza's return to Arizona to face her charges.

Justice Delayed, But Not Denied

"This disturbing case can finally move forward with justice for Crystal," U.S. Marshal Van Bayless said in the agency's announcement. Those words carry enormous weight for a case that spans nearly three decades. Crystal Reyes never had a chance to grow up, to be protected, or to be heard. The system failed her in life — but it did not ultimately abandon her in death.

Somoza now faces extradition to Arizona to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge. With a co-defendant already convicted and serving a life sentence, prosecutors will be well-prepared. The case stands as a sobering testament to the persistence of modern forensic science and international law enforcement cooperation — and to the truth that some cases, no matter how cold they become, never truly close.