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Mexico detains Anna Somoza in 1997 killing of daughter Crystal Reyes
Anna Marlene Somoza, 60, was detained in Xochitepec, Mexico, and faces extradition to Arizona on a first-degree murder charge in her daughter’s death. The case emerged after remains found near Mobile in 1998 were identified through DNA testing 16 years later.
Anna Marlene Somoza, an Arizona woman accused of killing her daughter, was detained Sunday in Xochitepec, Mexico, after more than a decade as a fugitive, the U.S. Marshals Service said. She is charged with first-degree murder in the 1997 death of Crystal Reyes and is awaiting extradition to Arizona.
Human bone fragments discovered near Mobile in 1998 were identified as Reyes in 2014 through DNA analysis, authorities said. Prosecutors allege Somoza and her boyfriend, Avelino Guzman Tamala, abused the girl for years. Authorities say Reyes was confined in a small dog kennel, bound and gagged for prolonged periods, and deprived of food before she was suffocated and placed in a sealed box.
Tamala, who was a narcotics detective, was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder in 2016 and sentenced to prison, according to court records. The Marshals Service said he had an improper romantic relationship with Somoza while she was working as a confidential informant for an Arizona law enforcement agency.
Somoza’s detention does not determine her guilt. Extradition is a treaty-based process in which Mexico reviews matters including a person’s identity, whether the alleged conduct is a crime in both countries, and whether the treaty applies, said Juan Rocha, an attorney who teaches at Arizona State University.
Rocha said Mexico commonly seeks assurances that the death penalty will not be pursued. Prosecutors have not publicly said whether they will seek it in Somoza’s case. Based on cases he has handled or observed, Rocha said extradition proceedings can take six to 18 months.