After an eight-year-long manhunt, Phoenix police announced the apprehension and extradition of a suspect in a 2017 cold case murder back to the United States. Michael Anthony Arredondo, 34, is accused of the fatal stabbing of 25-year-old Evin Paulos, discovered dead nearly a decade ago in a remote Phoenix lot.
Arredondo's arrest on Sept. 25 by Mexican law enforcement has brought some closure to the case, which had lingered unsolved for years. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, the suspect was extradited to the U.S. and was received by the U.S. Marshals Service. The specifics of where in Mexico Arredondo was apprehended, however, remain undisclosed.
The Phoenix Police's statement, cited by AZFamily, revealed that during an interview conducted at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, Arredondo confessed to the murder of Paulos and his subsequent flight from the country designed to evade capture.
Details regarding the motive for the brutal killing have not yet been made public. Jail records show Arredondo currently faces charges of first-degree and second-degree murder and is being held on a $1.5 million bond. A forthcoming news conference scheduled for Monday is expected to offer further insights into the case, with Phoenix detectives and a member of Paulos' family set to speak.
"He was [a] very, very loving person. He loved everybody," Paulos' mother, Evelyn, described her son in an interview with FOX 10 Phoenix back in 2018, highlighting the emotional toll the unexplained loss had on the family. With Arredondo's confession, this case has moved a significant step closer to resolution for those left in the wake of the tragedy.
