A suspected killer who has been targeting sex workers in Tijuana is thought to be somewhere in San Diego, and the Attorney General of Baja California says he is working with U.S. authorities to find him.
Homicide investigators say the man they’re looking for is a U.S citizen who found his victims in strip clubs and bars in Zona Norte, a community in northern Tijuana.
"If someone threatens the lives of our citizens, of our women, then they will have a serious problem with our justice system," Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Carpio said.
At least three victims have been linked to the same killer, and Carpio said their could be more victims.
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Evidence indicates the suspect has sex with his victims, beats them and then kills them, according to investigators. Each woman was found dead in a motel room.
"There was work done regarding sharing information between our homicide department and the institution’s strategy department. They were able to determine that this suspect attacks vulnerable, lonely victims and lures them with lies.”
Carpio said police spent the last three months collecting crime scene evidence and documenting the manner in which the women were killed to connect the murders to the same suspect. And there could be more victims, he said.
"We have also taken the necessary actions to try and identify any cases that may be related to this femicide, and we have issued an arrest warrant against said individual," he added.
Femicide is a term to describe the outbreak of violence against women in Mexico. Carpio says in the first three months of this year, 140 women were murdered across the country.
Many of those cases remain unsolved. Baja California has the second-highest number of femicides in the country. Authorities say they are keeping some details of the murders confidential so as not to alert the suspect.
They do know who he is and that he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into San Diego. Carpio said he is determined to capture him.
"Without a doubt, we will capture him and transport him back here to Tijuana," he said.
Carpio did not say who investigators are working with on the U.S. side of the border.
NBC7 reached out to local law enforcement and the FBI for more information but has not yet heard back.
