A man suspected of stabbing his wife to death in front of their young children at their Chula Vista home four years ago, then fleeing to Mexico, was behind bars Tuesday following his capture last spring and extradition back to the United States.
Mexican authorities transferred Francisco Caldera Uriarte, 41, to the custody of U.S. law enforcement in San Diego last week, according to the Chula Vista Police Department. He had been arrested south of the border in May.
Uriarte had been at large since March 29, 2020, when he allegedly killed his 35-year-old wife, Natalia, during a fight at their apartment in the 500 block of Oxford Street, about a mile and a half west of Castle Park High School.
At the time, Chula Vista police said officers received a call from a neighbor claiming to have heard a woman scream at around 1:38 a.m. Once officers arrived at the apartment complex, they found three children -- 9-year-old twins and a 3-year-old -- who said their mother and father had been in a physical fight, Chula Vista Police said.
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Patrol officers found Natalia Uriarte, a makeup artist, dead and her husband gone.
The children, who were not harmed, told officers that their dad had fled the scene and they believed he killed their mother during the fight, CVPD said.
The day after the killing, Chula Vista Police released a picture of Uriarte, who they believed killed his wife and was considered armed and dangerous.
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Uriarte was booked into San Diego Central Jail on Thursday on suspicion of murder and child endangerment. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Wednesday.
