A Mexican grandmother accused of murdering her beauty queen daughter-in-law in an execution-style shooting has been arrested after allegedly fleeing the country.
Erika Maria Herrera, 63, was cuffed in Venezuela on Wednesday in connection with the killing of her son’s wife, Carolina Flores, 27, following a two-week manhunt, Mexican outlet Blog del Narco reported.
An Interpol red notice had earlier been issued for Herrera, after police named her as the lead suspect in the murder of Flores at her apartment in Mexico City’s wealthy Polanco neighborhood on April 15.
As of Thursday, she was still in Venezuela awaiting extradition to Mexico, according to law enforcement.
Flores, a former Miss Teen Universe for the northern Mexican state of Baja California, was found with 12 gunshot wounds, including six to her head and six to her chest, in the home she shared with Herrera’s son, Alejandro, and the couple’s 8-month-old child.
Chilling video captured the moment Herrera allegedly gunned down Flores before being confronted by her son.
In the clip, the mother-in-law is seen following Flores off-camera, before a dozen shots ring out.
“What did you do, you crazy woman?” Alejandro says, walking into frame, carrying his young son.
“Nothing, she just made me angry,” Herrera coldly replies, before reportedly claiming Flores had “stolen” her son away from her.
Alejandro remains under investigation after allegedly not reporting his wife’s death until the next day, giving his mother time to escape.
Police confirmed Herrera’s arrest in a statement Wednesday.
“The Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City confirms that, in coordination with authorities of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Erika Maria ‘N’ was arrested as the probable person responsible for the femicide of a 27-year-old woman committed in the Miguel Hidalgo borough,” Mexican police said.
“Following the murder, the City of Mexico Prosecutor’s Office initiated an investigation that made it possible to establish her probable involvement,” the statement continued.
“Based on the evidence gathered on April 17, one day after the complaint was filed, a judge issued the corresponding arrest warrant,” the statement concluded.