Fugitive arrested in Mexico appears in Sacramento court for 2017 girlfriend murder

Jose Guadalupe Lopez Nunez, 49, was extradited from Mexico and arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court for the 2017 murder of Emelina Quintero-Ramos.

Fugitive extradited after nearly eight years on the run

A man captured in Mexico last August appeared in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday to face a murder charge in the 2017 death of his girlfriend, sacbee.com reports.

Jose Guadalupe Lopez Nunez, 49, was arraigned on a charge of murder in connection with the killing of Emelina Quintero-Ramos. He is being held without bail at Sacramento County Main Jail, where he was booked Friday following his extradition.

Quintero-Ramos' body was discovered on 4 September 2017 by an angler fishing in the Sacramento River near Isleton, according to the FBI. Following an investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, a felony arrest warrant was obtained on 16 October 2017, alleging that Lopez Nunez killed Quintero-Ramos and disposed of her body in the river to conceal the homicide.

A federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued on 24 October 2017, after which the FBI launched an international campaign and issued a wanted poster to locate him.

Lopez Nunez was ultimately apprehended on 31 August 2025 near Mezquital del Oro in the state of Zacatecas, central Mexico, after authorities received a tip from the public.

Brian Tosh, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Sacramento Field Office, said in a news release that he hopes Lopez Nunez's arrest "offers some relief to the family of Emelina Quintero-Ramos after many years of waiting for prosecution."

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)