Ending a decades-long international manhunt, law enforcement officials captured a Texas woman in Mexico, nearly 30 years after she dodged trial for the murder of her 3-year-old daughter. The apprehension closes a chilling chapter that began in 1997.
According to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, 48-year-old Maria Narez was detained on Saturday, the result of a coordinated international collaboration among law enforcement agencies.
Authorities originally arrested Narez in Tarrant County back in 1996. She stood accused of the grave crime of murdering her daughter, Kasandra L. White, who was just 3 years old at the time.
FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth obtained records detailing the harrowing allegations against Narez. She reportedly killed the young girl through a vicious assault, involving actions like shaking, striking with an unidentified object, and hurling her against a wall.
Maria Narez, after evading Texas law enforcement for nearly three decades, was finally apprehended in Mexico on charges of taking her 3-year-old daughter’s life. (Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office)
Her bail was initially set at $500,000 when the complaint was filed Dec. 4, 1996, then reduced to $25,000 the following day.
Bond paperwork shows Narez’s release conditions included no contact with children under 17, electronic monitoring and monthly drug tests.
A grand jury indicted Narez on a capital murder charge in April 1997, and prosecutors announced they were ready for trial.
U.S. Marshals were involved in the capture of Maria Narez, who fled to Mexico nearly 30 years ago after being charged with killing her 3-year-old daughter. (Getty Images)
But by Aug. 28, 1997, Narez’s bondsman told the court he could not reach her and did not know where she was. A judge issued a warrant for her arrest that day.
The docket later notes Narez’s bond was forfeited on Oct. 7, 1997, and another warrant was issued — with a handwritten notation indicating it had not been executed.
Court records show a judge lowered Maria Narez’s bail from $500,000 to $25,000 before she stopped responding and fled to Mexico. (iStock)
Narez later fled the country and remained a fugitive for nearly three decades, authorities said.
“Before the case could go to trial, Narez fled and has remained a fugitive for decades,” the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said in a social media post. “The DA’s office never gave up on bringing Narez back to face the charge against her and answer for the death of her daughter.”
The district attorney’s office credited Mexico Interpol, the U.S. Marshals Service’s Mexico Foreign Field Office, the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and its own investigators for their roles in Narez’s capture.
News Media has reached out to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service for comment.
Narez is expected to be extradited to Texas to face the capital murder charge.