John Jefferson
Left: Jose Cruz in 1991 when he killed his wife Ana Jurado. Right: Cruz after his arrest in 2024 (Fairfax County Police Department)
The man who murdered his wife because he thought she was sleeping with another man and then fled to another country where he started another family and hid for 30 years has pleaded guilty, according to Virginia prosecutors.
Jose L. Cruz, 60, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and faces up to 40 years in prison for killing 24-year-old Ana Jurado, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Friday. The couple had been in the process of getting a divorce when Cruz killed her on April 30, 1991. Authorities in Fairfax County, a Washington, D.C., suburb, received a call after neighbors heard a woman screaming. Officers arrived and found Jurado suffering from upper body trauma. Paramedics pronounced her dead on the scene.
Investigators said Cruz was upset that Jurado may have had an affair when he took out a knife and slashed her throat.
“When Jose Larazo Cruz killed Ana Jurado, he left behind three young children and a devastated community,” Descano said in a statement. “It’s been over 30 years since that dark day, but Fairfax County has never forgotten her or her family, and we remain committed to the pursuit of justice for all victims of violent crimes.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, witnesses told detectives they saw a man matching Cruz’s description running away from the scene. Cops quickly obtained an arrest warrant for Cruz for first-degree murder.
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“This really isn’t a traditional cold case,” Fairfax County Police Department Chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference announcing the charges in January. “It was solved virtually right away. He was on the lam. He was on the run. He avoided accountability for something he did nearly 33 years ago.”
Deputy Chief of Investigations Eli Cory said after Cruz killed Jurado, he tried to cross the border in Canada but was denied because he had fake identification. The Border Patrol agent also noticed a fresh cut on his hand. Cory said Cruz then hopped on a bus and traveled to Houston where he was smuggled across the Mexican border. Cruz then went to El Salvador where he’s lived ever since.
“We believe that he started an entirely new family,” Cory said. “He had several children.”
Detectives spent years trying to find Cruz in El Salvador to no avail. Complicating matters was El Salvador did have an extradition system until 2000. But he was never caught in El Salvador. Cruz was arrested on July 29, 2022, when he tried to enter Costa Rica from Nicaragua, Cory said. Officials then began the extradition process to take him to the United States and officials booked Cruz into the Fairfax County Jail last week.
“This is a moment that has been 30-plus years in the making. And for 30 plus years a family has waited for answers, has waited for justice and finally we’re just at the beginning of that road,” said Steve Descano, Fairfax County commonwealth attorney.
Cruz and Jurado had three young children at the time of the murder. Cory credited the work of the original detectives on the case.
“They put together such a good case so many years ago it’s allowed us to bring him to justice today,” Cory said.
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