Suspect in 2016 San Diego killing captured after authorities got tip that he was teaching English in El Salvador
An Arizona man wanted for the killing of his girlfriend in San Diego in 2016 was captured in El Salvador, the U.S. Marshals Service said. Raymond McLeod, 37, who was on the agency's 15 Most Wanted list, was taken into custody Monday afternoon by local law enforcement and confirmed his identity to accompanying U.S. authorities, the service said in a statement Tuesday.
Authorities were tipped off that McLeod had been teaching English at a school in the city of Sonsonate.
McLeod, a U.S. Marine veteran, is accused of killing Krystal Mitchell, 30. Both McLeod and Mitchell lived in Phoenix but were visiting friends in San Diego at the time of her death.
"This defendant's brazen attempt to evade justice is over and the work to hold him accountable in a court of law for the murder of Krystal Mitchell can now begin," San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement.
On June 10, 2016, the friend found Mitchell not breathing and paramedics pronounced her dead. Homicide detectives found signs of a struggle.
"They determined Mitchell was last seen alive with her boyfriend McLeod," the Marshals Service statement said.
The San Diego County district attorney's office charged McLeod with murder, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The Marshals Service subsequently led the manhunt for McLeod, who they believed fled through Mexico to Central America. He was reported to have been in Guatemala in 2017 and Belize in 2018.
A $50,000 reward was offered for information leading to his capture, and he was added to the 15 Most Wanted list.
Authorities said McLeod will be deported from El Salvador to San Diego to face charges. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
"It is our sincere hope that his capture brings some sense of relief to Krystal Mitchell's family, especially her mother, Josephine Wentzel, who has worked so diligently with law enforcement these past years to see this day of justice arrive," U.S. Marshals Director Ronald Davis said in the statement.