Man who fled country convicted in slaying
A man who fled to Mexico 14 years ago after he was suspected of killing his girlfriend has now been convicted of her murder.
A jury on Thursday found Martin Quezada Estevez guilty of second degree murder in the death of 36-year-old Carla Garcia Perez following a lengthy trial in Yuma County Superior Court.
Estevez, who was arrested on March 26 while trying to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, was represented by attorney Richard Parks of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office. Karolyn Kaczorowski of the Yuma County Attorneys Office prosecuted the case.
Perez was last seen at 7 p.m. on the evening of Feb. 17, 2004, when she supposedly left her home in the 500 block of South 41st Drive. Estevez, who was her boyfriend at the time, reported her missing to the Yuma County Sheriffs Office, telling deputies that she had left on foot without taking any personal belongings.
She was last seen wearing a red long-sleeved pullover sweater with blue jeans.
Skeletal remains recovered by the Yuma County Sheriffs Department on Oct. 19, 2005, in Dome Valley near Wellton matched Perez’s DNA. The cause of death was never established.
Perez and Estevez, however, were known to sometimes work in agriculture fields in the area.
Estevez fled the country sometime before Perez’s remains were found and was believed to have been living in Mexico for the past 14 years. He was indicted for her murder in December 2008.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 8. Estevez could receive a sentence ranging from 10 to 22 years in prison.