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A suspect in the 2008 Christmas Day stabbing death of a mother of three in Huntsville has been extradited from Mexico, where he allegedly fled after the crime.
Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Lane Findlay confirmed Tuesday that Gutberto Heras-Corrales, 39, had been booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree felony murder, a charge filed in July 2009. He was scheduled for an initial court appearance on Wednesday in 2nd District Court.
Heras-Corrales, formerly of Ogden, is charged in the death of 26-year-old Noemi Rodriguez, whose body was found in the Huntsville Cemetery on Dec. 26, 2008, by a snowplow driver.
She had numerous stab wounds to her face and neck. An autopsy later confirmed that she bled to death from her wounds.
Lab test results suggest partial DNA evidence found under the fingernails of Rodriguez matches DNA found in the defendant's boxer shorts, according to charges.
Police and prosecutors believe Heras-Corrales — who is the ex-boyfriend of Rodriguez and the father of one of her children — left Utah on the day of the murder and fled to Mexico.
" ... investigators worked closely with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Justice for several years in an attempt to locate him," Findlay said.
He was located in Culican, Sinoloa and an arrest warrant was issued in 2012. After federal authorities and Interpol joined in supporting Weber County's efforts to extradite Heras-Corrales, the Mexican government arrested him in January 2013. He had been in custody in Mexico until earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Heras-Corrales was being held in the Weber County jail on $500,000 cash-only bail.
In addition to the murder count, he also faces arson charges in Davis County stemming from a fire that burned down Rodriguez's mobile home on Dec. 20, 2008.
Further details on why it took a year and a half from the time of his Mexican arrest for Heras-Corrales to be returned to Utah were not immediately available from Weber County Attorney Dee Smith
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