Woman Charged with Allegedly Beheading Boyfriend, Arrested After Fleeing to Mexico By Charna Flam

A 23-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the decapitation of her boyfriend. 

Alyssa Marie Lira was charged with one count of murder and one felony enhancement for personally using a weapon, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday, Jan. 29. If convicted of both charges, she faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life.

Her arrest comes five months after Enrique Gonzalez-Carbajal, 55, was found decapitated in Lira’s Anaheim, Calif., home on Aug. 25. 

At the time of his death, they had dating for two months.

Authorities identified Lira as a suspect and learned she fled to Mexico, the D.A. said in its press release.

Homicide detectives in Anaheim worked with the FBI and authorities in Mexico to search for Lira. She was found in Mexico months later and taken into custody on Jan. 22. Her exact location has not been publicly revealed.

On Jan. 23, she was turned over to Anaheim police homicide detectives at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

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Prosecutors have not shared any possible motive. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office did not offer additional information when contacted by PEOPLE.

Lira is being held without bail at the Orange County Jail. Her arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 13.

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“Nothing — not time, not distance nor foreign borders — will thwart our pursuit of justice,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the DA’s release.

“Orange County law enforcement will continue to go to the very ends of the Earth to carry out our mission and hold criminals accountable for the heinous acts they commit,” he continued.

“This investigation and prosecution are a testament to the tenacity and dedication of the Anaheim Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and our federal and international partners to identify a cold-blooded killer, track her down in a foreign country, and bring her back to the United States to face the full weight of the law,” Spitzer said.