After evading capture for nearly three decades, a Texas mother accused of the tragic murder of her toddler has been apprehended in Mexico, authorities have revealed.
Maria Narez, who is now 48 years old, faced charges for the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Kasandra White. The harrowing incident took place in November 1996, when Narez allegedly shook, beat, and slammed her daughter into a wall inside their home in Fort Worth.
Teenaged at the time, Narez was indicted by a grand jury the following year but disappeared after her bond was reduced to $25,000, a decision detailed in court paperwork examined by Fox 4.
Following the forfeiture of her bond, an arrest warrant was issued in 1997 as Narez escaped across the border, where she managed to hide for nearly 30 years.
“The perseverance of the DA’s office was unwavering in their pursuit to hold Narez accountable for her daughter’s death,” stated the District Attorney’s office in a formal release.
Additional details about where she was arrested and what she had been doing for the last 29 years were not immediately available.
Narez was a 19-year-old grocery store clerk in 1996 when she allegedly chucked the child after she refused to go to bed, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
She told investigators she was feeling depressed and stressed when she snapped.
“It angered her. She picked the baby up by the chest under her arms, threw her against the wall and her head struck the door edge,” Fort Worth Police Department Sergeant Fred Pendergraf told the paper at the time.
The toddler complained that she was hurt but went to bed. Narez was arrested when she then took her daughter to the hospital, where the toddler lost consciousness and eventually died.
Narez is due to be extradited to Tarrant County from Mexico to face capital murder charges.
The DA’s office thanked Mexico Interpol, the U.S. Marshals Mexico Foreign Field Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice-Office of International Affairs, DA Investigators Tiffany Johnson and Victor Espino-Nevarez, and Assistant DA Steven Elliott for their work in capturing Narez.