FBI Albuquerque
Office of Public Affairs
(505) 889-1300
March 9, 2022

Joint Roswell Police Department-FBI News Release: FBI Returns Man Accused in Roswell Killing to U.S.

A man accused of killing his girlfriend at a southeast Roswell home in January 2020 and then fleeing to Mexico with the couple’s young son was returned to the United States by the FBI this week to face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery against a household member, and child abuse that were filed as a result of the Roswell Police Department investigation.

Jorge Ernesto Rico-Ruvira, 34, on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, was transported from Mexico to Roswell, where he was turned over to the Roswell Police Department and booked into the Chaves County Detention Center.

Rico-Ruvira is charged in the strangulation of 27-year-old Isela Mauricio-Sanchez, whose body was found January 7, 2020, in a bedroom of her house in the 600 block of East Forest Street.

A family member found the victim when he went to the house because Mauricio-Sanchez was not answering her phone.

RPD officers were called to the house—where Mauricio-Sanchez lived with Rico-Ruvira and two children—about 11:15 a.m. and detectives were soon after notified of the case.

The investigation began looking into what was initially listed as a suspicious death, but was quickly reclassified as a homicide.

That same day, Rico-Ruvira was identified as the suspect and that afternoon New Mexico State Police, at the request of RPD, issued an Amber Alert seeking to locate Rico-Ruvira and his then-3-year-old son, Osciel Ernesto Rico.

With investigators believing Rico-Ruvira may have fled with the boy to Mexico, the FBI brought its international resources to the effort to locate Rico-Ruvira and the boy.

A federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution or giving testimony was filed against Rico-Ruvira.

After issuing the federal arrest warrant and offering a reward of up to $10,000, the FBI worked with the government of Mexico to locate the fugitive Rico-Ruvira and the boy Osciel.

They were located in the State of Jalisco, Mexico, on October 6, 2021.

The FBI coordinated with the Fiscalia General (General Prosecutor’s Office) del Estado Jalisco Anti-Kidnapping Unit to arrest Rico-Ruvira and safely return Osciel to the United States, where he was placed in the care of family members in Roswell.

The FBI’s legal attaché in Mexico City worked closely with Mexican authorities to take custody of Rico-Ruvira, culminating with an FBI agent bringing him back to Roswell March 8, 2022.

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of multiple-agency cooperation and, in this case, particularly between the Roswell Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said Roswell Police Chief Philip Smith. “I am incredibly proud of our investigators who identified the suspect and teamed with the FBI’s expertise in international operational deployments. The operation’s success was founded in locating and apprehending the fugitive while returning both the suspect and the child. The suspect is now in the United States to face justice.”

“The FBI has a long reach and a long memory,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda, who oversees the Albuquerque FBI Division. “The successful conclusion of this case is an example of how the FBI works with our partners in this country and internationally to make sure victims like Osciel get justice, no matter how much time it takes or where a suspect tries to hide. We would like to thank the government of Mexico for their cooperation, our legal attaché in that country, the Roswell Police Department, and the numerous other federal, state, and local agencies who helped make this day possible.”

A video of the news conference can be found here: https://fb.watch/bF46PuEqkK/