Cartel-linked woman captured

Anna Marlene Somoza was arrested in Mexico on Sunday. She was wanted for torturing and murdering her daughter, Crystal Reyes, in Arizona in 1997, nearly 30 years ago.

Somoza's background in drug trafficking

Somoza was connected to a major transnational drug trafficking network along the Arizona border through the nineteen eighties and nineties. She was arrested for selling and transporting marijuana in nineteen ninety-three.

Crystal's birth and living situation

In November nineteen ninety-three, Somoza had a daughter, Crystal Reyes, born in Nogales, Mexico.Her father was Darren Stockwell, a law enforcement officer and U.S.citizen.

Child's abuse and death

While living with Somoza and Tamala, Crystal was subject to severe physical abuse, including being bound and gagged in a small dog kennel for weeks.

Bones identified through DNA

In November nineteen ninety-eight, human bone fragments were found in Mobile, Arizona but could not be identified. In two thousand fourteen, Darren Stockwell provided DNA that allowed investigators to identify the bones as Crystal's.

Indictment, arrest and extradition

Somoza and Tamala were indicted on first-degree murder charges on December twelve, two thousand fourteen.Tamala was arrested that day and sentenced to life in prison in two thousand sixteen.Somoza fled to Mexico.

“No one can hide from American justice forever.”