A Man has been arrested on murder charges, exactly 20 years after allegedly killing a 15-year-old girl in Phoenix, Arizona.
Officers identified Sergio Reyes, now 37, as a suspect in 2014, a decade after the murder, although he was residing in Mexico at the time, according to authorities. In the years that followed, investigators collaborated with the United States Marshals Service to track down and extradite Reyes. He was booked into Maricopa County Jail on Wednesday on charges related to Elena Lasswell’s death on July 10, 2004.
“It is exactly 20 years since 15-year-old Elena Lasswell was murdered inside her house. So it is a tremendous day not just for the Phoenix Police Department, but also for Elena’s family,” Det. Dominick Roestenberg said in a video posted on the department’s Facebook page. “They have waited 20 years for justice. So it took some time, but with determination, hard work, and dedication, we were able to bring Sergio Reyes back to Phoenix to face charges.”
Lasswell died in her own house, despite first responders’ efforts to save her, according to a press statement. In the immediate aftermath of her death, authorities were unable to locate any “direct information as to who killed Lasswell.”
Cold case detectives employed DNA collection techniques in 2012 to establish a profile that matched Reyes, and the following year, he was confirmed as the primary suspect in Lasswell’s death. In 2014, a Maricopa County Grand Jury indicted Reyes while he was living in Mexico CBSNews stated.
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According to jail records, the bond amount was set at $1.5 million. Reyes is scheduled to appear in court on July 17 to face accusations of first-degree murder during a crime, sexual assault, first-degree murder-premeditated, second-degree burglary, and kidnapping.