Two Suspects Arrested In Mexico For Teacher’s Murder
Posted December 4, 2009 8:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Mexican police have arrested two people in connection with a Toronto teacher’s murder in North York last summer.
In July, Connie Valencia-Russo, a 44-year-old single mother and French instructor, was found dead in the trunk of her car at an apartment building near Jane Street and Wilson Avenue.
Her debit and credit cards had been stolen and her account later accessed from outside the country.
Images of the suspects – 23-year-old Juan Antonio Reyes and 19-year-old Ana Laura Rodrigues – were captured on the building’s security cameras, and within days, police issued warrants for their arrest.
They soon learned the Mexican nationals had returned to their home country the day after the homicide and that the couple had been renting a room in the same condo building as Valencia-Russo’s ex-husband, Alex Carrillo Baquero.
Last Saturday, Reyes and Rodriguez were arrested in Mexico City. Extradition proceedings are underway to return them to Toronto to face charges of first-degree murder.
Toronto city councillor Cesar Palacio, who shares a child with Valencia-Russo, expressed relief over the arrests.
“For those that had the honour of knowing Connie, this is an occasion of both great relief and great sadness. There is relief in the knowledge that those responsible are now one step closer to justice, but sadness in that these arrests reopen still very fresh wounds,” he said in a statement.
“I’ve always believed that Toronto is a safe city, a kind city, and the best city in the world to live and raise a family. A senseless and shocking crime like this may shake our faith in that belief for a moment. But the outpouring of support from complete strangers and professionalism of our police have, for me, only validated and reminded me just how safe and caring our city is.”
