Murder Charges Filed In Dragging Death

Prosecutors formally filed murder and kidnapping charges Monday against a Mexican immigrant accused in the gruesome dragging death of his 49-year-old girlfriend.

Jose Luis Rubi-Nava, 36, was being held without bail, and is accused of the killing of Luz Marie Franco Fierros, whose battered and disfigured body was found Sept. 18 in a normally quiet subdivision about 20 miles south of Denver.

Investigators say Franco Fierros had been dragged behind a vehicle for more than a mile, leaving a bloody trail. Preliminary autopsy results said she suffered fatal head injuries and strangled as she was dragged.

She was identified by matching her fingerprints to Mexican voter registration records.

Rubi-Nave also faces charges of forging and possessing a government-issued document

Court documents remained sealed in the case, and it was not immediately clear what documents Rubi-Nava was accused of forging. District attorney's spokeswoman Kathleen Walsh declined comment.

Immigration officials have said they believe Rubi-Nava is an illegal immigrant.

A judge scheduled another hearing for Thursday to hear motions in the case.