Man Charged with Wife's 2004 Murder in Avondale Arrested in Mexico

(Phoenix, Ariz. -- Nov. 1, 2010) Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced that Miguel Rodriguez Alvarado, 59, who was indicted six years ago for murder in the stabbing death of his wife in Avondale in 2004, has been taken into custody in Mexico.

Based upon the homicide investigation conducted by Avondale police, Goddard said his Office is preparing a petition for extradition to have Alvarado returned to Arizona to face prosecution for the murder.

Alvarado is accused of fatally stabbing his wife, Mary Carmen Alvarado, 52, at their Avondale home on May 10, 2004. He allegedly had a history of domestic abuse with her and was upset that she was planning to divorce him. She was found dead by her son in a bathtub filled with water. Alvarado told police that his wife had committed suicide. After an autopsy, however, the death was declared a homicide. Alvarado fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution.

“This case is an excellent example of collaboration among local, state, federal and Mexican law enforcement,” Goddard said. “The arrest is all the more noteworthy given the fact that this was a cold case which Avondale police and our investigators refused to let go.”

Alvarado was apprehended after a provisional arrest warrant, issued by the Arizona Attorney General's Office, was given to the U.S. Marshals Service, which worked with Mexican federal police to locate the suspect and take him into custody. He will be held in Mexico while he awaits extradition.

For more information, contact Steve Wilson of the Attorney General's Office at (602) 542-8351, Reuben Gonzales of the Avondale Police Department at (623) 333-7214, or Thomas Henman of the U.S. Marshals Service in Phoenix at (602) 382-8776.