Less than a year after landing on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 10 Most Wanted list, a man accused of multiple homicides connected to a holiday picnic has been arrested.
According to the FBI, Octaviano Juarez-Corro was apprehended Thursday in Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico. Authorities allege that he shot and killed two individuals and wounded three others during a large holiday picnic on May 29, 2006.
Hundreds of people – including many children – were gathered for the celebration at South Shore Park, located on the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisc., when Juarez-Corro arrived. At the time, he was in the final stages of a divorce and a daughter he shared with his wife was three years old.
Juarez-Corro, then 32 years old, found a friend of his estranged wife at the picnic and began a conversation. Shortly after he entered the park, Juarez-Corro pulled out a gun and began firing. His then 23-year-old wife sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest, but survived.
According to the Associated Press, police confirmed that Raymundo Munoz-Silva, 31, and Julio Diaz-Guillen, 17, both of Milwaukee, were both fatally shot in the head. A 34-year-old man was also shot in one leg and a 21-year-old man was also wounded in his leg.
Authorities began searching for Juarez-Corro soon after the shooting, but he eluded capture for more than a decade.
“Octaviano Juarez-Corro spent the last 16 years running from law enforcement, hiding in another country, and believing time and distance was on his side,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Hensle of the FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office. “The FBI has a long reach and extraordinary law enforcement partnerships across the globe. I commend the tireless efforts of all our partners from Milwaukee to Mexico in closely coordinating with the FBI in capturing this wanted fugitive and helping to bring this violent offender to justice, as well as closure to the victims and their families.”
Investigators located Juarez-Corro thanks to a public tip. Chief Jeffrey B. Norman of the Milwaukee Police Department, the FBI’s International Operations Division, Legal Attaché Office in Mexico City, the Criminal Investigation Agency of Mexico’s Attorney General helped find the fugitive.
“The Milwaukee Police Department appreciates all of the efforts by the FBI and assisting law enforcement agencies involved in the apprehension of Octaviano Juarez-Corro. With his capture, we are one step closer to bringing justice and closure to the victims, the victims’ families and everyone that was impacted by this tragic incident,” said Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman.
Juarez-Corro was the 525th person to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was established in 1950, according to the bureau.
All defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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