Father Involved In Amber Alert Waives Extradition From South Carolina
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- A Dundalk man -- one of the FBI's Most Wanted -- will soon be brought back to Maryland to face charges he murdered his ex-wife and kidnapped his daughter.
An Amber Alert sparked a national search for Timothy Virts and his daughter Caitlyn. They were found in South Carolina.
Mike Hellgren reports.
A small memorial sits in the front yard of the home in Dundalk where Bobbie Jo Cortez was tied up and stabbed to death.
Police say her ex -- Timothy Virts -- killed her before kidnapping their 11-year-old daughter, Caitlyn.
WJZ has learned the 38-year-old will not fight his extradition to Baltimore County.
"Our detectives continue to explore all aspects of this investigation, including the relationships with Bobbie Jo Cortez and with his children," said Elise Armacost, Baltimore County Police.
Police found Timothy and Caitlyn Virts more than 400 miles from Dundalk, in Florence, S.C. after an alert hotel clerk recognized them in a Facebook post about the nationwide Amber Alert.
Caitlyn returned home over the weekend.
"She did express to the Social Services people and to our detectives that she was very happy to be going home and that she was very happy to have the ordeal of this road trip behind her," said Armacost. "She's doing as well as anyone can expect a person to do after she's been through this kind of ordeal that she's been through."
"She would do anything her daddy said. If her daddy said stay in the truck, she would do that," said Peter Virts, paternal grandfather.
Detectives believe Virts tied up and killed his ex. The motive for that murder remains unclear but Virts did agree to an interview.
"We can't talk about the details of what he's been saying to police. This is still an ongoing and very active investigation," Armacost said.
Children's toys remain in the yard of the home where the murder happened. Several family members say they would like custody of Caitlyn.
"I'm happy she's safe. I really am, but now I believe that they're going to do the wrong thing again," said Peter Virts.
A small memorial to Caitlyn's mom is on the front lawn, a reminder of the brutal crime as a family struggles to move past it.
"My daughter's a fighter. My daughter would not just give in...so she fought him. I know she fought him until he overpowered her," said Caitlyn's maternal grandfather, Daniel Wallace. "I'm trying to raise money for the funeral because I don't know if I'm going to be able to bury her."
Police expect a federal charge against Timothy Virts to be dropped once he is brought back to Maryland.
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