Murder victim's mother, a former police detective, reacts to fugitive Marine's arrest after working 6 years to find him: "I got him!"
A tip along with the perseverance of the mother of a woman killed in San Diego in 2016 led to the arrest of her boyfriend, a U.S. Marine veteran who fled to El Salvador and was teaching English there, prosecutors said Friday at the arraignment of Raymond McLeod.
McLeod, 37, who was on the U.S. Marshals' 15 Most Wanted list, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in San Diego Superior Court. He is accused of strangling his girlfriend, Krystal Mitchell, 30, a mother of two.
Mitchell's mother, Josephine Wentzel, a former police detective who had been helping in the hunt for McLeod, had worked tirelessly for years to bring justice for her daughter and her two grandchildren, who were just 5 and 6 years old when their mother was killed.
"Yes! I got him! And he's not going to get away again," said Wentzel, who flew into San Diego from Washington for his arraignment.
"He's never going to be released from that jail if I can have something to do with that. I'm glad this day came," she added. "After six years, I wasn't too sure. I'm glad it's here now."
On June 10, 2016, a friend found Mitchell not breathing and paramedics pronounced her dead. Homicide detectives found signs of a struggle.
Wentzel, a Vancouver, Washington resident who used to investigate robberies, thefts, and sometimes murders for the Guam Police Department, said she began her own inquiries into her daughter's death about six months after her killing when she didn't see enough progress in the police investigation.
Wentzel started a website dedicated to finding McLeod, posted wanted fliers on social media channels in Mexico and Central America and had reached out to hostels and newspapers in those regions. Wentzel diligently pursued information about McLeod's whereabouts.
"She was a driving force in this arrest," Deputy Marshal Joseph O'Callaghan said.
According to court documents, the night before Mitchell's death, the couple went to a bar where a person saw McLeod slap Mitchell in the face. When the person tried to intervene, they got into a fight with McLeod and the couple was kicked out of the bar, the newspaper reported.
Surveillance video showed McLeod grabbing Mitchell by her neck and shoving her into an elevator after they returned late to the apartment, the newspaper reported. The next day after McLeod had left the apartment, their friend found Mitchell's body in the guest room.
Investigators said he had rented a car, bought Mexican insurance for it, and fled the country alone, according to court documents.
McLeod was captured after the U.S. Marshals Service received a tip that he was teaching English in the city of Sonsonate.
"If nothing else, this case represents what it means when the public responds and they tell law enforcement what they've seen in order to bring justice to grieving families," said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan at a news conference held after the Friday morning arraignment.
The person will receive some or all of a $50,000 reward the service had offered for information leading to McLeod's arrest.
Josue Castro told KFMB-TV that McLeod was his English teacher in El Salvador from 2017 to 2019.
"I remember he told me he's from Canada. Also, his name was Jack. Just Jack. He doesn't give me the last name," said Castro.
The student took photos of McLeod teaching the English class and interacting with students at the school called Direct English in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
Castro had no idea his teacher was a fugitive, wanted for murder.
"I am shocked because that was my teacher of English. Also, he was very friendly with me," said Castro, during a Zoom interview from his current home in Los Angeles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
