COUPLE INVOLVED IN 2004 HOMICIDE EXPELLED FROM MEXICO AFTER
INVESTIGATION BY U.S. MARSHALS MEXICAN INVESTIGATIVE LIAISON IN TUCSON

Tucson, AZ - Luis Carlos Corella (33) and his wife Carmela Corella (32) are in the custody of the Pima County Sheriff in Ajo, Ariz. after being expelled from Mexico through the Lukeville Port Of Entry last night. Luis Corella is wanted for the murder of Kim Massengale, whose body was found on January 10, 2004 in a wash in the 7300 block of West Camino Del Cerro. The Pima County Sheriffs Department obtained murder warrants for both Luis and Carmela Corella on April 1, 2004.

At the request of the Pima County Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST), the U.S. Marshals Mexican Investigative Liaison Office in Tucson (USMS MIL) was asked to assist in the arrest of both fugitives once it was determined they had fled to Mexico.

In November 2005, Carmela Corella turned herself in at the Nogales Port of Entry and was ultimately convicted of Hindering Prosecution and sentenced to 3 years probation in February 2006. She violated her probation by fleeing to Mexico in July 2006. Luis Corella had remained a fugitive on the original murder warrant since it was issued in April 2004.

In February 2007, the USMS MIL Office in Tucson developed information placing Luis Corella in a Puerto Penasco, Sonora, jail facing fraud charges under the alias Raul Cruz Guerrero. A subsequent fingerprint analysis conducted Sonora State Judicial Police (SSJP) confirmed Corella’s true identity. Corella was later released in late May 2007.

During the June 2007 Policia Internacional Sonora Arizona (PISA) Conference, discussions were held between the U.S. Marshals, the Sonora State Judicial Police, and Interpol Mexico City requesting further investigation into the whereabouts of the two fugitives. The investigation conducted by the SSJP culminated with the arrest of both Luis and Carmela Corella in Puerto Penasco on June 13, 2007. Mexican immigration officials ordered the couple expelled from Mexico as they did not have legal status under Mexican immigration law. Customs and Border Protection Officers took the couple into custody and turned them over to the Pima County Sheriff in Ajo. Luis Corella faces the murder charge and Carmela Corella will be held on the probation violation.

David Gonzales, United States Marshal for the District of Arizona, commended the efforts of law enforcement on both sides of the border. “International cooperation between law enforcement at all levels of government successfully brought a wanted murderer to justice. Hopefully, this case sets an example for future cooperative efforts leading to safer communities both here and in Mexico.

Photographs of both fugitives are available by contacting Deputy Dawn Barkman, Public Information Officer for the Pima County Sheriff.

For further information on the U.S. Marshals Service, go to www.usmarshals.gov