Man Accused Of Murdering Pregnant Wife In El Monte Extradited From Mexico
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A man charged with the murder of his estranged wife and their unborn child has been extradited from Mexico and returned to Southern California. Octavio Curiel-Martinez was being held without bail Thursday in Los Angeles after being brought back on Jan. 3 to face charges in the murder of Ana Maria Nunez, his estranged wife who was six months pregnant, on Aug. 29, 2018.
Authorities say after he shot his wife to death at her El Monte home that night, he also drove to his father's house nearby and fired a gun at him. The father, Raymond Curiel, was not hurt.
Curiel-Martinez fled the country, but was arrested for an unrelated charge near the state of Jalisco, Mexico in May of 2019, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. By then, he had been named one of the FBI's Most Wanted, and Mexican authorities notified their American counterparts that he was in custody.
Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide detectives worked with the FBI to arrange for Curiel-Martinez's extradition. He arrived back in Los Angeles last Friday at about 11 a.m., and was immediately taken into custody for the murder of Nunez and the attempted murder of his father.
He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Feb. 19.
