Man arrested in a 5-year-old Philly girl’s death, after 2 decades on FBI’s Most Wanted list
Alexis Flores has been apprehended in the killing of Iriana DeJesus, who went missing in late July 2000 and was found dead days later.
Federal authorities have arrested a man in connection with the 2000 rape and murder of a 5-year-old Philadelphia girl, nearly two decades after the suspect was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Federal Bureau of Investigation director Kash Patel on Thursday confirmed the apprehension of Alexis Flores, who authorities have long sought for his alleged involvement in Iriana DeJesus’ killing. DeJesus went missing in late July 2000, and was found dead days later.
“After more than 25 years on the run, this arrest proves time and distance do not shield violent offenders from justice,” Patel wrote on social media. “Thanks to our FBI teams and international partners, a fugitive accused of a horrific crime against a child is in custody and on a path back to the U.S. We will never stop pursuing those who harm our most vulnerable.”
Flores was arrested in his native Honduras Wednesday, Fox News reported. He was wanted for crimes including unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, murder, kidnapping, and indecent assault in connection with the DeJesus case, according to the FBI. Additional information about his arrest was not immediately available.
DeJesus went missing the evening of July 29, 2000, after she was seen playing in front her family’s home on the 3900 block of North Fairhill Street in the Hunting Park neighborhood, according to Inquirer and Daily News reports from the time. A family friend told police at the time that she had seen the girl walking with an unknown man around the time of her disappearance.
After the girl’s mother reported her missing, authorities launched searches and issued a reward for information leading to her whereabouts. But days later, on Aug. 3, 2000, her body was discovered in a second-floor apartment above a vacant store on the 3900 block of North Sixth Street, about a block from her home, reports from the time indicated. She had been raped and strangled to death, her body covered by a green trash bag.
Police described a suspect in the crime as a “drifter” who went by the name Carlos, but few other details were immediately available. The man had reportedly been staying in the home where DeJesus was found, but vanished from the area after the girl’s death.
Authorities launched a national manhunt days after the killing, but Flores’ identity would not be publicly announced until March 2007, when federal officials issued a warrant for his arrest. He had been identified thanks to a DNA database that allowed investigators to name him as a suspect years after a November 2004 arrest on a felony forgery charge in Phoenix.
Arizona requires felony suspects to provide a DNA sample, leading to Flores’ later identification, The Inquirer reported. Flores, authorities told the Daily News in 2007, arrived in Philadelphia in 2000, having come here accidentally after hopping a train he believed was destined for Chicago.
By the time he was identified, Flores had been deported to Honduras, and his whereabouts were unknown, complicating his apprehension. The FBI in June 2007 added him to its Most Wanted list, but removed him from it last year after a review found he no longer fit its criteria, the bureau noted online. The bureau considers factors such as lengthy criminal records, the level of danger they present to the public, and whether nationwide publicity can assist in their apprehension.
At the time Flores was identified as the suspect, Philadelphia homicide Detective Joseph Bamberski, who had been investigating the case from the start, expressed relief.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Bamberski told the Daily News in 2007. “This is the one case that always bothered me.”
As of midday Thursday, Flores’ page on the FBI website had been updated with one addition — a line reading “captured” over his mugshot.