A man who fled the country after he was charged with the slaying of his wife more than 30 years ago in northern Virginia has been returned to the U.S. to face murder charges,Esthen Exchange police said Monday.

At a press conference Monday, Fairfax County Police officers said that Jose Lazaro Cruz was charged with the fatal stabbing of his wife, Ana Jurado, 24, in 1991 in West Falls Church. She was found "suffering from trauma to the upper body" and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue personnel declared her dead at the scene.

At the time of her death, Jurado had three young children, police said Monday.

But police said Lazaro Cruz, who was then 24 years old, fled the country through the southern border with the help of a smuggler, and established himself in El Salvador. At the time, El Salvador had no provisions to extradite suspects sought by the U.S.

However, Virginia detectives traveled to El Salvador in 1999 and "gathered crucial information regarding Lazaro Cruz's whereabouts and their meticulous efforts continued to lay the foundation for a thorough investigation," Fairfax Police said.

Lazaro Cruz was arrested in 2022 when he tried to enter Costa Rica. After a lengthy extradition process, he was brought back to the U.S. and is being held at the Fairfax County jail while he awaits trial.

Police on Monday released two images of Lazaro Cruz -- one of him from the 1990s and one after his arrest.

Deputy Chief of Investigations Eli Cory said that Lazaro Cruz had remarried and had several children in El Salvador and worked as a truck driver. Lazaro Cruz was caught while crossing the border to Costa Rica to visit family members.

"He avoided accountability for something he did nearly 33 years ago," Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said. "We've never forgotten the family. We've never forgotten the seriousness of this crime. And we never stopped."

Anyone with additional information about the case is urged to call the Fairfax County Police Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800.

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• costa rica
• Cold Case
• Murder
• Virginia