Arizona cold case arrest is back in the spotlight after officials said a woman accused of torturing and killing her young daughter in 1997 was taken into custody in Mexico nearly three decades later.
Arizona cold case arrest linked to cartel networks
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Anna Marlene Somoza was tied to a major transnational drug trafficking network along the Arizona border in the 1980s and 1990s. She was arrested in 1993 on marijuana sales and transportation charges, then agreed to serve as a confidential informant for Arizona authorities.
Somoza gave birth to her daughter, Crystal Reyes, in November 1993 in Nogales, Mexico. The child’s father, Darren Stockwell, is a U.S. citizen and law enforcement officer, officials said.
Soon after, Somoza and Crystal moved to Ahwatukee, Arizona, to live with Somoza’s boyfriend, narcotics detective Avelino Tamala. Investigators said Somoza and Tamala began an improper romantic relationship while she was acting as a source for law enforcement.
While in that home, Crystal was allegedly subjected to severe physical abuse, including being bound and gagged in a small dog kennel for extended periods, according to the Marshals Service. The abuse turned deadly on January 30, 1997, when Crystal suffocated inside a sealed cardboard box, investigators said.
Break in the case through DNA
In November 1998, human bone fragments were discovered in Mobile, Arizona, but could not be identified at the time. Somoza and Tamala were arrested in 1999 on drug and weapons offenses, and DNA was collected. Analysis indicated the remains could not exclude Somoza as the maternal source. Without a paternal DNA comparison, however, investigators could not make a conclusive identification. Somoza was released from prison in 2008.
The case remained cold until 2014, when detectives located Stockwell and obtained a DNA sample. That comparison confirmed the remains were Crystal’s.
Indictments and a yearslong search
Somoza and Tamala were indicted for first-degree murder on December 12, 2014, and arrest warrants were issued. Tamala was arrested the same day by the U.S. Marshals and Arizona’s WANTED Violent Offender Task Force. Investigators soon learned Somoza had fled to Mexico and began working with the Marshals’ Mexico Foreign Field Office, but she remained at large. Tamala was sentenced to life in prison in 2016.
Officials said federal, state and local agencies spent the next 12 years pursuing leads. Investigators concluded Somoza took deliberate steps to avoid capture, and her close ties to cartel networks complicated the search.
Capture in Mexico and next steps
In September 2026, members of a U.S. Marshals task force learned Somoza was in Cernavaca, Mexico. On Sunday, Mexican police and Interpol officers arrested her in Xochitepec, officials said. Extradition efforts are underway, and Somoza is expected to face charges in Arizona.
An Arizona State University attorney noted that Mexico often requires assurances the death penalty will not be sought in extradition cases. Prosecutors have not said whether they will pursue capital punishment.
“No one can hide from American justice forever,” said Timothy Courchaine, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. He said federal and state partners are working with Mexican authorities to bring Somoza back to Arizona to face court proceedings.
