US fugitive couple accused of sexual abuse and murder captured in Mexico with 5 kids

Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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A Washington state couple wanted for murder and the sexual abuse of their own children was captured last week in Mexico, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Edgar Casian-Garcia, 34, and Araceli Medina, 38, are accused of murdering Casian-Garcia’s 7-year-old-son, Edgar Casian-Garcia Jr., and sexually abusing other children in their care. The investigation into the couple began in 2020 when two of their children were found abandoned in Mexico.

After nearly two years on the run, they landed on the U.S. Marshals Service's "15 Most Wanted" fugitive list, leading to their arrest.

Case begins with abandoned children

The story began in late 2020  when two of Casian-Garcia’s daughters, were discovered deserted at a gas station in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, according to the NCMEC.

One of the children said she had been raped and tortured while living with Casian-Garcia and Medina in Washington. Both children showed signs of physical and sexual abuse, according to the NCMEC.

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The kids were taken into protective custody in Mexico, and six months would pass before authorities in Washington would learn about the abandoned children, the NCMEC said.

Child Protective Services officials in Washington were familiar with the family, and quickly realized that the two children had a brother, Casian-Garcia Jr., who had not been seen since September 2020, according to the NCMEC.

Couple flees the country

Pasco, Washington police then interviewed the couple at their home in May 2021 and were told that the 7-year-old boy and two of his siblings were living with their biological mother in California, the NCMEC said.

Edgar Casian Garcia's remains were discovered in February 2022. He had last been seen in September 2020.
Edgar Casian Garcia's remains were discovered in February 2022. He had last been seen in September 2020.

Casian-Garcia and Medina fled to Mexico the following month, in June 2021, along with five other children in their custody, according to the NCMEC and U.S. Marshals Service.

In February 2022, hikers in a rural stretch of Washington found human remains, which were later identified by police as 7-year-old Edgar Casian-Garcia Jr.. Washington police charged the disappeared couple with his murder.

The U.S. Marshals joined the investigation. In November, the agency said it would offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of each suspect, adding that they believed the couple might’ve fled to Tepic, Nayarit or Mazatlán, Sinaloa in Mexico.

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Fugitive couple makes the "Most Wanted" list

On Feb. 15 the U.S. Marshals slotted the fugitive couple into its ”15 Most Wanted Wanted” list and upped the reward for tips leading to their capture to $25,000 each. The fugitives on the list are considered the “worst of the worst,” the agency said, and include “career criminals” charged with everything from murder to high profile financial crime.

Casian-Garcia and Medina are the first couple to ever appear on the list, the agency said.

Araceli Medina and Edgar Casian-Garcia were added to the U.S. Marshals Service's "15 Most Wanted" fugitive list in February.
Araceli Medina and Edgar Casian-Garcia were added to the U.S. Marshals Service's "15 Most Wanted" fugitive list in February.

Scant details on their arrest were available Monday. It’s unclear whether the couple remained in Mexican custody, but the NCMEC said the five children who were accompanying them had been returned to the U.S..

Inquiries from USA TODAY to the U.S. Marshal Service and Pasco Police Department were not immediately returned Monday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Most Wanted' fugitive couple arrested in Mexico for murder of child