Former FBI most wanted fugitive extradited to Philadelphia to face charges in killing of 5-year-old in 2000
A former FBI 10 Most Wanted fugitive was extradited Monday to Philadelphia to face charges in the 2000 killing of 5-year-old Iriana DeJesus.
Alexis Flores was returned to the city to face charges of kidnapping, rape and murder in the death of DeJesus, the Philadelphia Police Department said.
Prosecutors will be holding a 1:30 p.m. news conference Tuesday to announce additional developments in their 26-year investigation. You can watch it live in the player above or anywhere you stream CBS News Philadelphia.
Police said Flores was captured on Feb. 11 in Lepaera, Honduras, with the help of the FBI's Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force and Honduran authorities.
Lizasuain DeJesus, Iriana's mother, said after all of these years, she knew the day would come. She got a call that Flores was back in Philadelphia after he was taken into custody by the FBI Sunday night.
"I never lost hope," Lizasuain DeJesus said. "The love, the hugs, everything is what really kept me going."
DeJesus was reported missing by her mother on July 29, 2000, after disappearing while playing outside her home on the 3900 block of North Fairhill Street in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood, police said. Her body was discovered inside a vacant property on Aug. 3 under renovation at 3902 North 6th St. Police said investigators determined she was sexually assaulted and killed.
During the investigation, police said detectives developed a suspect known as "Carlos" who had reportedly been staying at the property where DeJesus was found. He disappeared from the neighborhood around the same time DeJesus was reported missing, according to police.
In 2007, police said DNA evidence collected in Philadelphia was matched through the Combined DNA Index System to Flores. His DNA was obtained after an unrelated arrest in Arizona, police said. Flores was then added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 2, 2007.
Detectives with the Philadelphia Police Department kept working on the case alongside the FBI for more than two decades until Flores was arrested and extradited back to the city.
"This gives hope to those who sit there and say, 'Will my case will never be solved?'" Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said.
Lizasuain DeJesus said that as her daughter's case went cold for years, she stayed positive, turned to faith, and believed in the justice system.
While Lizasuain DeJesus still has a long road to go in court, she has a message for others.
"It's OK to forgive," she said. "It's OK; if you don't forgive, you are still in the darkness."
