Half of Fairfax County homicide suspects in 2026 are in the U.S. illegally

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - A total of nine people have been killed in eight Fairfax County homicide cases so far in 2026. Reporting shows that half of the suspects in theses cases are in the U.S. illegally. 

This year, the following nine homicide victims were identified across eight cases:

• Mamta Thapa, 33, and Binda Thapa, 52, were killed during a Feb. 23 domestic stabbing in Mantua.
• Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed in a Feb. 23 stabbing in Hybla Valley.
• A 3-month-old was killed in a March 27 blunt force trauma incident in Bailey’s Crossroads.
• An unnamed man was killed in a March 29 stabbing in Bailey’s Crossroads.
• Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, was killed in a murder-suicide in Annandale.
• Auner Chavez Diaz, 19, was killed in a May 9 stabbing in Huntington.
• Chisen Jameson, 60, was shot and killed during a July 12 domestic incident in Fair Oaks.
• Carmen Lizet Puch, 42, was stabbed to death and found near Great Falls on Aug. 17.

Four of the suspects tied to these eight homicide investigations were identified as undocumented immigrants, accounting for 50% of the cases in the county so far this year. 

Suspects identified as illegal immigrants

Dig deeper:

Abdul Jalloh, 32, was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of Minter. The Sierra Leone native entered the U.S. illegally in 2012 and has more than 30 prior arrests, including for rape, assault and drug possession, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removal order filed in 2020 and dozens of arrests in Northern Virginia, local prosecutors dropped charges in most of Jalloh's prior cases, records show. 

READ MORE| Man accused in Fairfax bus stop killing entered US illegally, had previous violent charges dropped

Misael Lopez Gomez, 28, was indicted in July for the death of his 3-month-old daughter in March. Lopez Gomez was identified by law enforcement as a Guatemalan native who entered the U.S. as a gotaway. According to police, he admitted to repeatedly hitting the infant at their home in Fairfax County. ICE has since filed a detainer. 

READ MORE | Father accused in 3-month-old’s death is in US illegally, officials say

Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, 38, was arrested after a man died from a stabbing inside a Bailey's Crossroads home on March 29. Chavarria Muy was arrested inside a vehicle and later identified as a Guatemalan native, police said. ICE lodged a detainer shortly after his arrest, requesting that local authorities not release him, according to FOX News. 

Recently, Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, was arrested in connection with the Aug. 17 fatal stabbing of Puch in Great Falls. Federal officials confirmed that the El Salvador native entered the U.S. illegally, and was apprehended and released at the border in El Paso, Texas, in 2024. Police noted that Cedillos-Campos worked and had an intimate relationship with Puch. 

Immigration enforcement in Virginia

The federal crackdown on illegal immigration in the U.S. has sparked friction in some states. On her first day in office, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order ending state police and corrections agreements with ICE.

Following Jalloh's arrest, DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis issued a statement: "We are calling on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Virginia's sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE. This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people."

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