Los Angeles prosecutors allege Ruben Fregosojuarez murdered his girlfriend, fled to Mexico with their daughter and sparked an international search before his arrest
A Los Angeles man accused of violently murdering his girlfriend before fleeing to Mexico with their 5-year-old daughter was finally arrested, bringing an intense weeks-long international manhunt to an end.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, 40-year-old Ruben Fregosojuarez has been charged with one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse in connection with the homicide of his 36-year-old girlfriend, Marisol Fregoso.
L.A. prosecutors allege that on or about May 25, 2026, Fregosojuarez killed Marisol before taking the couple’s young daughter, 5-year-old Daleyza Fregoso, across the U.S.-Mexico border. Los Angeles has requested the criminal complaint filed.
If convicted of the murder charge, Fregosojuarez faces 25 years to life in California state prison.
The investigation began on May 25 when Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a home in the West Adams neighborhood around 12:30 p.m. They shockingly discovered Marisol Fregoso dead. Police have released very few details about how she died, saying only that preliminary information indicated she died as a “result of violence.”
Later that same day, investigators identified Fregosojuarez as a person of interest, and the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for Daleyza.
That night, police located the SUV connected to the case in a parking garage near the San Ysidro border crossing, but neither Fregoso Juarez nor the young girl was inside.
Days later, investigators released surveillance images that allegedly showed Fregosojuarez and Daleyza leaving the San Ysidro parking garage with luggage early on May 24. Detectives believed the pair had crossed into Mexico.
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LAPD announced that those suspicions were accurate, per KTLA.
According to investigators, Mexican authorities took Fregosojuarez into custody the weekend of June 13-14. Daleyza, who is a U.S. citizen, was found safe and is now in the custody of Mexican officials.
Officials with the U.S. Embassy are expected to help return the 5-year-old to family members in Los Angeles in the coming days, while the extradition process to bring Fregosojuarez back to California has begun. A review of Los Angeles County jail records did not show Fregosojuarez in custody.
“The killing of a mother and the abduction of a young child is the kind of violence that shocks the entire community,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges. “I cannot imagine the grief and fear that the innocent child faced as she was allegedly snatched after her mother was killed.”
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kelsey McKeever-Unger of the Family Violence Division. The investigation remains ongoing and is being handled by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division in coordination with federal and Mexican law enforcement authorities.