12-Year Fugitive Wanted in Child Murder Cold Case Detained in Mexico

PHOENIX, Ariz. - After more than 12 years as a fugitive in Mexico, Anna Marlene Somoza, 60, wanted on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the murder of her child, was detained on October 18, 2026, in Xochitepec, Mexico by Fiscalia General de la Republica (FGR) Interpol and Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana (SSPC) agents.

On November 30, 1998, human bone fragments were discovered by a hunter in a deserted sector of Mobile, Arizona. The remains went unidentified for nearly two decades, leaving investigators with an unsolved mystery. In August 2014, forensic DNA analysis successfully matched the fragments to four-year-old Crystal Reyes, daughter of Anna Somoza and Darren Stockwell, who is a United States Citizen.

Evidence gathered by multiple law enforcement agencies over several years was reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office leading to a grand jury indictment on December 12, 2014, charging Somoza and her boyfriend Avelino Tamala, with first-degree murder for the death of Crystal Reyes. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued, and the Phoenix Police Department requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in locating and apprehending the couple. Later that same day, members of the USMS led Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force arrested Tamala. Task Force members quickly identified leads that suggested Somoza was in Mexico, and the USMS Mexico International Liaison (MIL) team initiated collaborative investigative efforts with the USMS MFFO (Mexico Foreign Field Office).

It would take investigators another twelve years to locate and apprehend Somoza, which was affected by her close connections with cartels.

“This disturbing case can finally move forward with justice for Crystal”, stated U.S. Marshal Van Bayless for the District of Arizona, “Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County Attorney’s Office showed their unrelenting desire to get Somoza into court and prison for her atrocities to an innocent beautiful little girl. This case became our priority with our partners, both north and south of the border who we are grateful for, and now she will be coming back and held accountable.”

“No one can hide from American justice forever”, stated U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, “The United States Attorney’s office stands in partnership with both our federal and critically our state partners to ensure defendants have their day in court. We look forward to now working alongside our Mexican partners to bring this fugitive back to Arizona.”

“The Phoenix Police Department’s commitment to pursuing justice for victims is central to its mission”, stated Phoenix Police Department, “We are grateful to the U.S. Marshals Service and our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners for their assistance in apprehending this wanted suspect. With the suspect in custody, the case of Crystal Reyes can move forward. We thank everyone whose efforts made this apprehension possible.”

Long before her indictment for the murder of her daughter, Somoza had an extensive criminal history connected to a major transnational drug trafficking network active along the southern Arizona border throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Following her 1993 arrest for the sale and transportation of marijuana, she agreed to act as a confidential informant for an Arizona law enforcement agency. Over the course of her cooperation, she entered an improper romantic relationship with Avelino Tamala, a narcotics detective.

On November 25, 1993, Somoza gave birth to Crystal. Investigative reports reveal, Crystal was born in Nogales, Mexico and the birth went undocumented. Shortly after Crystal’s birth, Somoza took Crystal to live with her and Tamala in Ahwatukee, Arizona. The investigation later revealed Tamala was not the father of Crystal.

Behind closed doors, the young child was subjected to severe physical abuse, ultimately being confined to a small dog kennel. Throughout Crystal’s brutally-short-lived life, Somoza and Tamala repeatedly tortured, starved, and abused Crystal as an infant and young girl. Reports indicate that Somoza and Tamala would leave Crystal bound by her hands and feet, gagged in a small dog crate for weeks at a time. The abuse escalated fatally on January 30, 1997, when the child was bound, suffocated with a taped towel, and left to die inside a sealed cardboard box.

In 1999, Anna Somoza and Avelino Tamala were arrested on drug and weapon offenses. Following their arrest, DNA was collected and later forensic analysis of the bone fragments found in the Arizona desert could not eliminate Somoza as the maternal source. However, investigators lacked a DNA profile from Crystal’s biological father. As a result, the case went cold while Somoza served an eight-year federal prison sentence. Somoza was released from prison in 2008 and deported to Mexico.

In August 2014, Crystal’s biological father, Darren Stockwell, who at the time of Crystal’s conception was a law enforcement officer, was located and interviewed by cold case detectives.

A sample of Stockwell’s DNA was collected and analyzed, positively identifying the remains as Crystal’s. This breakthrough along with other evidence gathered throughout the investigation, provided sufficient grounds for prosecutors to charge Somoza and Tamala for the first-degree murder of Crystal in December 2014.

On November 8, 2016, Tamala was found guilty of Crystal’s murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Throughout the twelve-year fugitive investigation, Maricopa County Attorney's Office, Phoenix Police Department, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, District of Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office, and USMS task force members from the District of Arizona, and Mexico Foreign Field Offices conducted extensive investigative efforts to locate Anna Somoza. Investigators discovered that Somoza had taken deliberate and extensive measures to evade detection by law enforcement while remaining at large.

On October 19, 2022, through the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and the Phoenix Police Department, obtained a Provisional Arrest Warrant authorizing the extradition of Somoza back to the United States to face her charge.

In 2026 the fugitive investigation of Somoza was designated a Major Case; dedicating additional manpower and resources to the investigation. Beginning in early September USMS task force members developed information that SOMOZA was actively evading detection in Cernavaca, Mexico.

On October 18, 2026, at approximately 1427 local time, Anna Somoza was detained in Xochitepec, Mexico by Fiscalia General de la Republica (FGR) Interpol and Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana (SSPC). Law enforcement partners will continue coordinating efforts to secure Somoza’s return to the United States to face pending charges in Arizona. 

The Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force is a U.S. Marshals Service led multi-jurisdictional fugitive apprehension unit responsible for more than 2324 arrests in the last year. The task force is comprised of 25 agencies bringing together the resources of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the community’s most violent offenders and sexual predators.