A California man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping their toddler daughters has been captured and the girls found safe.
Sheriff David Robinson of Kings County announced on Thursday that FBI agents had located Jonathan Maldonado-Cruz by tracking his and the victim’s cell phones to Mexico. After negotiating, Maldonado-Cruz surrendered at the San Ysidro border crossing.
The suspect’s mother, he said, played “a critical part” in the negotiations.
Maldonado-Cruz is facing allegations of fatally shooting Madeline Rose Cuevas, 22, either on Monday night or early Tuesday, and then fleeing with their two daughters, Arya and Alana Maldonado, aged 3 and 2. The discovery of Cuevas’ body with a fatal gunshot wound was made by deputies after her family reported being unable to reach her.
“The suspect had about a 15-hour head start on us,” Robinson said.
An Amber Alert was issued for the missing children as law enforcement initiated a search, as reported by CrimeOnline. The children were eventually located in Tijuana, according to Sheriff Robinson. The suspect along with the children are being brought back to Kings County, where prosecutors are currently determining the charges to be brought against Maldonado-Cruz.
Joel Cuevas, the victim’s father and the children’s grandfather, thanked the public for their prayers.
”The babies are innocent,” he told KSEE.”Everybody’s prayers were answered. Nothing can bring back my daughter. But my daughter lives in those girls.”
