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Mexico Plans To Extradite US Murder Suspect

Juan Villegas-Hernandez faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of his wife and four daughters in Roswell, New Mexico.
Courtesy of Roswell Police Department
Juan Villegas-Hernandez faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of his wife and four daughters in Roswell, New Mexico.

Mexican authorities in the border state of Sonora are awaiting a U.S. extradition order for a man wanted in the murder of his wife and four daughters in New Mexico.

Juan Villegas-Herandez was arrested by Mexican police on Sunday in the small town of Arizpe, about 130 miles south of the Arizona border. On Tuesday afternoon he was still in their custody, in stable condition at a hospital after he attempted to commit suicide.

Police in New Mexico say Villegas-Hernandez fled the country after shooting his wife and four daughters at their home in Roswell. Their bodies were discovered by a relative on Saturday. Villegas-Hernandez is a dual citizen of Mexico and the U.S. which is why extradition is necessary. An official with the state police in Sonora said that once they receive the required paperwork, the extradition can happen within a week.

Mónica Ortiz Uribe was a senior field correspondent for the Fronteras Desk from 2010 to 2016.