LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Los Angeles man who allegedly killed his girlfriend and then fled with their 5-year-old daughter to Mexico has been charged with murder and child abuse, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Ruben Fregosojuarez, 40, was charged Wednesday in a felony complaint for arrest warrant charging him with one felony count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions other than great bodily injury or death.
He could face 25 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Fregosojuarez allegedly murdered his girlfriend earlier this week and then fled to Mexico with their child, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The girl -- who was identified by authorities as Daleyza Fregoso -- was last seen with her father at about 4 a.m. Sunday in the area of Alsace Avenue and Ferndale Street in the West Adams area of Los Angeles, according to the California Highway Patrol, which issued an Amber Alert on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Department.
The Land Rover Discovery SUV they were in was reportedly found in San Diego County, near the San Ysidro crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border. Surveillance video taken Sunday appeared to show the suspect and his daughter leaving a parking garage at the border crossing.
According to the LAPD, officers responded to a radio call for a welfare check at about 12:40 p.m. Monday in the 2600 block of South Alsace Avenue.
"Upon arrival, officers discovered an adult female deceased inside the residence," according to an LAPD statement.
The woman appeared to have suffered a violent death, police said.
"Investigators have learned that (Fregosojuarez) made statements indicating he intended to flee the country," police said.
Detectives asked anyone with relevant information to contact detectives at the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division, South Bureau Section, at 323-786-5100.
There was no immediate word Thursday on the whereabouts of Fregosojuarez or the couple's daughter.
In a statement announcing the charges, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, "The killing of a mother and the abduction of a young child is the kind of violence that shocks the entire community. I cannot imagine the grief and fear that the innocent child faced as she was allegedly snatched after her mother was killed."
The district attorney vowed that "the defendant will face his day in court, and our Family Violence Division will pursue every available resource and work with federal and Mexican law enforcement authorities to seek justice for the woman whose life was stolen and for the child caught in this tragedy."
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