Arrest made in case of 3 cousins found dead in Phoenix vacant lot
Mar 3, 2022, 7:26 AM | Updated: 8:10 am
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)
PHOENIX – A suspect has been arrested in the case of three cousins found dead in a vacant lot in southwest Phoenix earlier this month, authorities said Thursday.
Juan Vargas, 21, was taken into custody Wednesday night, the Phoenix Police Department said in a press release.
He was booked into Maricopa County jail on three counts of homicide, two counts of kidnapping and 1 count of robbery, according to the sheriff’s office.
The remains of 28-year-old Herminio Perez Ramirez, 21-year-old Isauro Martinez Dominguez and 16-year-old Abimael Jimenez Morenos were found Feb. 20 near 99th Avenue and Mobile Lane, between Broadway Road and Southern Avenue in Phoenix’s Estrella Village neighborhood.
Officers found the bodies with “obvious signs of trauma” around 1:35 p.m. after responding to a call about an injured person in a vacant lot.
ABC15 reported that the victims were cousins from Oaxaca, Mexico, who were driving to Wisconsin to live with relatives.
Police said the investigation was ongoing. Anybody with information was asked to call the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (948-6377) or 480-TESTIGO (837-8446) for Spanish.