ICE files detainer on Great Falls murder suspect in Fairfax County
MCLEAN, Va. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed a detainer with Fairfax County for the Salvadoran man charged in the fatal stabbing of Carmen Lizet Puch near a Great Falls trail on Monday, according to FOX News.
FOX News Congressional correspondent Bill Melugin said the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the detainer and released a statement from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
"This criminal illegal alien from El Salvador fatally stabbed 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch in a park in Virginia after he had been RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration," Mullin said. "If it weren’t for Biden’s reckless America Last policies, this woman would still be alive, and her killer wouldn’t be here. ICE is calling on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to cooperate with ICE and commit to NOT releasing this killer from jail. Virginia sanctuary politicians must stop gambling with the lives of American citizens. Enough is enough."
RELATED: Who is Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, the 19-year-old charged in Great Falls killing?
Fairfax County police identified 19-year-old Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos as the suspect charged in the death of Puch, 42, of Reston.
Police said Cedillos-Campos and Puch worked together at a restaurant and were involved in an intimate relationship.
Federal sources told FOX 5 DC that Cedillos-Campos is from El Salvador and was in the country illegally. Those sources said he was apprehended and released at the border in El Paso, Texas, in April 2024.
Police said Cedillos-Campos left the restaurant in the early morning hours Monday with a large fixed-blade knife, latex gloves and a water bottle.
Investigators said he emptied the bottle and filled it with gasoline siphoned from his motorcycle before he and Puch went to Difficult Run Park.
Police allege Cedillos-Campos repeatedly stabbed Puch, poured gasoline on her and unsuccessfully tried to set her on fire.
RELATED: Great Falls killing: Suspect had intimate relationship with victim, was in US illegally, sources say
Fairfax County police said Cedillos-Campos offered a full confession while being interviewed by homicide detectives.
McLean District Station officers responded to Difficult Run Park at about 6:43 a.m. Monday, where they found Puch dead with multiple stab wounds, police said.
Puch was found in a parking area in the 8800 block of Georgetown Pike, near Great Falls trails, beside her dark red 2011 Honda Civic. A person arriving for a morning run found her and called police.
Puch was the mother of a 3-year-old girl, police said.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Fairfax County police at 1-866-411-8477.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press, FOX News and previous FOX 5 reporting.