A man wanted in connection with a homicide in Toronto nearly 20 years ago was arrested in El Salvador on Thursday, Toronto police say.
A homicide investigation was launched on Aug. 31, 2004 after officers who were responding to a missing person call near Finch Avenue West and Weston Road found the body of 26-year-old Rosaura Tolentino Ramos inside a residence in the area. According to police, Ramos was suffering from obvious stab wounds and was pronounced dead on scene.
A suspect in the murder was identified and on Oct. 1, 2004 and a warrant was issued for his arrest, police said.
“An International Red Notice was issued by Interpol at the time, to alert police about the wanted male,” Toronto police said in a news release issued Friday.
Upon further investigation, police said they discovered that the accused fled to El Salvador immediately after the homicide. At the time, there was no extradition agreement in place between Canada and El Salvador, police noted.
“In February of 2024 the El Salvadorian government commenced an extradition hearing for the accused in which it was determined that he should be extradited to face charges in Canada,” the news release continued.
On Thursday, members of the Toronto Police Service’s homicide and missing person unit’s cold case section flew to San Slavador, El Salvador and brought the accused back to Canada.
The suspect has been identified by police as 63-year-old Juan Antonio Avalos and investigators confirmed that he was the victim's husband. He has been charged with one count of second-degree murder and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Friday morning.
