A man has been arrested in Mexico nearly 13 years after his newlywed bride was found slain in her wedding dress in her Illinois home.
Estrella Carrera, 26, was found dead in the bathtub of her Burbank, Ill., apartment on May 13, 2012 — less than 48 hours after she married Arnoldo Jimenez, the FBI’s Chicago Field Office said in a statement last week.
Authorities in Cook County charged her husband Arnoldo Jimenez, then 30, with first-degree murder on May 17, 2012, per the FBI’s statement. Soon thereafter, federal authorities issued an arrest warrant against him on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Recently, Jimenez was arrested in Monterrey, Mexico, the FBI’s Chicago Field Office said in a statement on Friday, Jan. 31. He was taken into custody without incident.
Carrera was found in a bathtub in her silver wedding dress, the Chicago Tribune, CBS Chicago, WGN 9 and other outlets reported at the time.
She died from multiple stab wounds, ABC 7 Chicago previously reported, citing the autopsy. An FBI agent told CBS News that she had been stabbed at least 18 times.
Carrera, mother to a then 9-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, had married her alleged killer less than 48 hours before she was found, WGN 9, FOX 32 Chicago and the Chicago Tribune reported. The couple shared the 2-year-old boy.
Authorities allege Jimenez stabbed Carrera in his Maserati before dragging her body and leaving it in the bathtub, CBS News and the Associated Press reported.
She was found after family members grew concerned because she had not picked up her two children from a relative’s house, per ABC 7 Chicago and CBS News. Her sister notified police, who responded to the residence for a welfare check when they found her.
The mother of two had not disclosed to anyone that she was getting married, the AP and CBS News reported. It wasn’t immediately clear how the suspect was finally arrested.
In 2019, the FBI had announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, and the amount was updated to $250,000 in 2023, WGN 9 reported.
The FBI acknowledged the contributions of the Burbank Police Department, Mexican law enforcement and the public in leading to the arrest.
Jimenez is being held in Mexico as he awaits his extradition to the U.S.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.