Kidnapped child found in Mexico; father arrested for mother's murder, police say

Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times on Jun 16, 2026

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A man who kidnapped his 5-year-old daughter and killed her mother then fled to Mexico has been arrested and will be extradited back to the United States, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Ruben Fregoso, 40, was apprehended in Mexico over the weekend, the LAPD said in a news release. Last month, according to police, Fregoso killed his 36-year-old girlfriend and then abducted their daughter before fleeing to Mexico.

Details on where and when he was captured were not immediately available.

"His five-year-old daughter, Daleza Fregoso, a United States citizen, was also located safely and is in the custody of Mexican officials," the LAPD said.

The child is expected to be reunited with her family in Los Angeles in the coming days while the extradition process is underway, police said.

Though police have identified the suspect as Ruben Fregoso, Los Angeles County prosecutors have charged him under the name Ruben Fregosojuarez with one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstance or conditions other than great bodily injury or death.

The search for 5-year-old Daleza Fregoso began on May 25, when authorities issued an Amber Alert in Southern California.

Earlier that day, the LAPD did a welfare check in the 2600 block of South Alsace Avenue in West Adams and found the body of Marysol Garcia inside.

Garcia had died "as a result of violence" and her daughter was missing, police said.

After the alert was issued, Fregoso's 2019 Land Rover Discovery vehicle was found abandoned near the border.

If convicted as charged, he faces 25 years to life in state prison.