Ruben Fregoso faces murder and child abuse charges in Los Angeles County.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A Los Angeles man accused of killing his girlfriend and taking their 5-year-old daughter to Mexico has been arrested, and the child has been found safe, police and prosecutors said.
Ruben Fregoso, 40, was taken into custody in Mexico after a search that began with an Amber Alert and a death investigation in the West Adams area of Los Angeles. Authorities said the girl is in the custody of Mexican officials while U.S. officials work to return her to relatives. Fregoso is charged in Los Angeles County with murder and misdemeanor child abuse.
The case began after the girl was last seen early May 24 near Alsace Avenue and Ferndale Street in West Adams, according to public reports from police. An Amber Alert followed as investigators searched for the child and her father. The next day, officers went to a West Adams home for a welfare check and found the child’s mother dead inside. Investigators said she appeared to have died as a result of violence, but authorities have not released a cause of death. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said the killing of a mother and the abduction of a young child shocked the community.
The woman has been identified by police and local reports as Marisol Garcia Palacios, 36. Prosecutors described her as Fregoso’s girlfriend. Some reports described the pair as husband and wife, but the criminal filing released by the district attorney’s office used the term girlfriend. Prosecutors allege Fregoso killed her on or about May 25, then fled to Mexico with their child. The girl’s name has appeared with different spellings in public reports. Police said she was found safe when Fregoso was arrested over the weekend in Mexico. Officials have not said where in Mexico the arrest took place.
The search expanded toward the border after investigators found Fregoso’s vehicle at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the major crossing between San Diego and Tijuana. Surveillance footage showed Fregoso and the child near the border area, authorities said. The abandoned vehicle and the footage helped investigators focus on the possibility that Fregoso had crossed into Mexico. The Los Angeles Police Department said Mexican authorities, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted in the investigation. A possible motive has not been released.
Fregoso, whose full name was listed by prosecutors as Ruben Fregosojuarez, is charged in case 26CJCF03225 with one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of child abuse under circumstances or conditions other than great bodily injury or death. If convicted as charged, he faces 25 years to life in state prison. Prosecutors said the case is being handled by Deputy District Attorney Kelsey McKeever-Unger of the Family Violence Division and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division.
Hochman said prosecutors would work with federal and Mexican law enforcement authorities as the case moves forward. “The defendant will face his day in court,” Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges. U.S. Embassy officials in Mexico are expected to help with two separate steps: returning the child to family in the United States and beginning the extradition process for Fregoso. Authorities have not announced a court date in Los Angeles, and it was not immediately clear when Fregoso would be returned to California.
The case drew attention in West Adams after flowers and candles were placed near the home where Garcia Palacios was found. Neighbors mourned the woman while the Amber Alert remained active and the child was still missing. Police released limited details during the search, saying the priority was finding the girl safely. By Monday, officials said that part of the case had changed: the child was alive, and the suspect was in custody. The criminal case, however, was still in its early stages.
As of Wednesday, the child remained with Mexican officials pending arrangements for her return to relatives, and Fregoso awaited extradition proceedings. The next major step is his transfer to Los Angeles County, where prosecutors said he will face the murder and child abuse charges filed May 28.
Author note: Last updated June 17, 2026.