Alexis Flores
Encyclopedia
Alexis Flores is a Honduran
fugitive
wanted for the kidnapping, rape and murder of five-year-old Iriana DeJesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
in 2000. Flores is the 487th fugitive to be placed
on the FBI
's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list.
in Honduras in 1998.
drifter, had been given shelter, clothing and work as a handyman by Hunting Park
, Philadelphia resident Jorge Contreras. On August 3, five days after she had been reported missing, the body of five year-old Iriana DeJesus was found in the basement of an empty apartment building where "Carlos" is believed to have stayed. She had been sexually assaulted
, strangled
and wrapped in a trash bag. A T-shirt bearing a distinct political logo was found near DeJesus' body with her blood on it. When police questioned Contreras about the shirt, he recognized it as one of the articles of clothing he had lent to Carlos, who had not been seen in the area since the girl was reported missing. "Carlos" then became wanted for questioning and a sketch of him was profiled on America's Most Wanted
.
in Arizona in 2002. Two years later, after giving fraudulent identity document
s to police, Flores was arrested for possession of a forgery
device, a felony
in Arizona. Flores told immigration officials that he had lived in Schaumburg
, Illinois
prior to living in Phoenix
. He was incarcerated for 60 days and deported to Honduras after his release in June 2005.
sample taken in Arizona was added to the Combined DNA Index System
. In March 2007, his DNA sample positively matched to "Carlos'" DNA left at the crime scene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has been determined that "Carlos" and Flores are the same person.
On March 22, 2007, a local arrest warrant
was obtained in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Flores was charged with murder and various other felonies. On the same date, a federal arrest warrant for Flores was obtained in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
and he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Flores was added to the FBI
's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list on June 2, 2007. He replaced Shauntay Henderson
on the list. There is a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to Flores' capture offered by the FBI. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Flores is fluent in Spanish
and English
and believed to be either in his native Honduras or having returned to the United States.
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
wanted for the kidnapping, rape and murder of five-year-old Iriana DeJesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in 2000. Flores is the 487th fugitive to be placed
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 2000s
-FBI Headlines in the 2000s:The 2000s started out badly for the FBI's much needed attempts to upgrade technology. First, the Trilogy project went far over the $380 million budget, and behind its three-year schedule. Then, Virtual Case File, or VCF, planned for completion in 2003, was officially...
on the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list.
Background
Flores was born in Honduras in 1975, although has used dates of birth ranging from 1975 to 1982. Flores has claimed he received a large surgical scar on his neck as a result of an injury sustained in Hurricane MitchHurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
in Honduras in 1998.
Kidnapping and murder charges
In the summer of 2000, "Carlo" or "Carlos", an itinerant homelessHomelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
drifter, had been given shelter, clothing and work as a handyman by Hunting Park
Hunting Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hunting Park is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Like many North Philadelphia neighborhoods, it grew mainly in the 1920s and 1940s. The neighborhood's namesake is large park which is a regular location for recreation for many...
, Philadelphia resident Jorge Contreras. On August 3, five days after she had been reported missing, the body of five year-old Iriana DeJesus was found in the basement of an empty apartment building where "Carlos" is believed to have stayed. She had been sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, strangled
Strangling
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and as the auxiliary lethal mechanism in hangings in the event the neck does not break...
and wrapped in a trash bag. A T-shirt bearing a distinct political logo was found near DeJesus' body with her blood on it. When police questioned Contreras about the shirt, he recognized it as one of the articles of clothing he had lent to Carlos, who had not been seen in the area since the girl was reported missing. "Carlos" then became wanted for questioning and a sketch of him was profiled on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
.
Arrests and deportation
Alexis Flores, an illegal immigrant, was arrested for shopliftingShoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
in Arizona in 2002. Two years later, after giving fraudulent identity document
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
s to police, Flores was arrested for possession of a forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
device, a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
in Arizona. Flores told immigration officials that he had lived in Schaumburg
Schaumburg, Illinois
Schaumburg is a city located in Cook County in northeastern Illinois. A common misspelling of the city name is Schaumberg, a spelling which persists on some modern maps. Schaumburg is located just under northwest of downtown Chicago and approximately northwest of O'Hare International Airport. As...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
prior to living in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. He was incarcerated for 60 days and deported to Honduras after his release in June 2005.
DNA match and addition to FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
In 2006, Flores' DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
sample taken in Arizona was added to the Combined DNA Index System
Combined DNA Index System
The Combined DNA Index System is a DNA database funded by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation . It is a computer system that stores DNA profiles created by federal, state, and local crime laboratories in the United States, with the ability to search the database to assist in the...
. In March 2007, his DNA sample positively matched to "Carlos'" DNA left at the crime scene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has been determined that "Carlos" and Flores are the same person.
On March 22, 2007, a local arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
was obtained in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Flores was charged with murder and various other felonies. On the same date, a federal arrest warrant for Flores was obtained in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
and he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Flores was added to the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list on June 2, 2007. He replaced Shauntay Henderson
Shauntay Henderson
Shauntay L. Henderson was a wanted fugitive apprehended on March 31, 2007 by the FBI after serving less than 24 hours on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. A reward of $100,000 for information leading to her arrest was offered...
on the list. There is a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to Flores' capture offered by the FBI. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Flores is fluent in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and believed to be either in his native Honduras or having returned to the United States.