PHILADELPHIA – More than a quarter-century after 5-year-old Iriana DeJesus disappeared while playing outside her Philadelphia home, the former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing her is back in the city to face charges.
Alexis Flores was captured Feb. 11 in Lepaera, Honduras, through an operation involving the FBI’s Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force and Honduran authorities. Following an international extradition process, Flores was transported to Philadelphia with assistance from the FBI.
Flores is now in Philadelphia custody and faces murder, rape, kidnapping and related charges. The charges are accusations, and Flores is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
5-Year-Old Iriana DeJesus Disappeared in 2000
Iriana’s mother reported her missing July 29, 2000, after the little girl disappeared while playing outside her home on the 3900 block of North Fairhill Street, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.
Five days later, on Aug. 3, investigators found Iriana’s body inside a vacant property undergoing renovations at 3902 North 6th Street. Investigators determined that she had been sexually assaulted and killed.
Detectives soon developed a suspect known at the time as “Carlos,” who reportedly had been staying at the property where Iriana was found. The man disappeared from the neighborhood at about the same time the girl vanished.
- Flores was captured in Honduras on Feb. 11 after spending more than 25 years as a fugitive.
- He faces murder, rape, kidnapping and related charges in connection with Iriana DeJesus’ death.
- DNA evidence linked Flores to the investigation in 2007, according to authorities.
When did Iriana DeJesus disappear?
Iriana was reported missing July 29, 2000, after disappearing while playing outside her Philadelphia home. Her body was discovered Aug. 3 inside a nearby vacant property under renovation.
DNA Match Put Alexis Flores on FBI Ten Most Wanted List
For years, investigators did not have the identity they needed to make an arrest.
That changed in 2007, when DNA evidence collected during the Philadelphia investigation was matched through the Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, to Flores. His DNA had been obtained following an unrelated arrest in Arizona, police said.
Arrest warrants followed, and the FBI placed Flores on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 2, 2007. An archived FBI wanted notice for Flores described him as a Honduran national with ties to Honduras.
The FBI said Flores was wanted for his alleged involvement in Iriana’s kidnapping and murder. Philadelphia homicide investigators and federal agents continued searching for him as the case stretched across decades.
How was Alexis Flores connected to the killing?
Authorities said DNA evidence from the Philadelphia investigation was matched to Flores in 2007 through CODIS after his DNA was collected following an unrelated arrest in Arizona.
Capture in Honduras Ends Decades-Long Manhunt
The break investigators had waited decades for came in February.
Flores was arrested in Lepaera, Honduras, on Feb. 11 through the efforts of the FBI Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force and Honduran authorities. The FBI announced his capture two days later.
Getting Flores back to Philadelphia took months. Police said an extensive international extradition process followed his capture before he was finally transported back to the city.
“For more than 25 years, Iriana’s family has lived with an unimaginable loss while waiting for this day,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said.
Bethel credited generations of homicide investigators, the FBI and authorities in Honduras with continuing to pursue Flores long after the crime.
“Iriana was only five years old,” Bethel said. “We have never forgotten her, and we never will.”
What happens to Alexis Flores now?
Flores is being held in Philadelphia to face murder, rape, kidnapping and related charges. His return allows the long-pending criminal case to proceed through the Philadelphia court system.
FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs said Flores’ return demonstrates that investigators will continue pursuing fugitives regardless of how much time has passed or where they flee.
The case now moves from a decades-long international manhunt to a Philadelphia courtroom, where prosecutors will have to prove the charges against Flores beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sources: Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Police Department statement on the return of Alexis Flores; FBI Philadelphia, February announcement of Flores’ arrest in Honduras; FBI wanted notice for Alexis Flores
