LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It was a promise made nearly two years ago by law enforcement to a grieving mother, and now that's a reality.
A man wanted in connection with the murder of Tabatha Tozzi has been captured in Mexico. But the story doesn't end there.
The suspect, Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez, is now accused of killing another young woman, and federal authorities say the search for justice is far from over.
VIDEO: Alyssa Bethancourt reports on the latest on the arrest of the suspect in the Tabatha Tozzi murder
While the arrest is offering some relief for two grieving families, it's also raising new questions. I went to Gary Schofield, U.S. Marshal for the District of Nevada, to ask about what happens next.
ALYSSA BETHENCOURT: Through your investigation, was it a concern that he could kill somebody else?
GARY SCHOFIELD: Yes, which is the reason that we pursue violent felons.
After nearly two years on the run, Perez-Sanchez was arrested in Sonora, Mexico — not for the murder of Tabatha Tozzi in Las Vegas, but for the death of another young woman, Vivian Karely, whose body was found in Culiacán earlier this month.
Crime
Suspect in Tabatha Tozzi murder arrested in Mexico after nearly two-year manhunt
"To see that he's in custody is a good thing," Schofield said. "Unfortunately, to find out that another family has been victimized down in Mexico is a tragic outcome for them."
According to authorities, Karely's life was taken violently, just as Tozzi's was in April 2023. It's a moment that comes too late for two families — but one that Schofield says the U.S. Marshals never stopped fighting for.
"We were going to relentlessly pursue him until all leads were exhausted, and there was never a time that it was a cold case," Schofield said.
FULL INTERVIEW | U.S. Marshal Gary Schofield answers questions about the Tabatha Tozzi case:
For Tozzi's mother, it was a public fight for answers — a promise made to her in her darkest days.
But while he was on the run, Perez-Sanchez wasn't hiding in the shadows. He was living under an alias and, according to Schofield, relying on help.
"We've taken some aggressive steps that we need to take as far as identifying individuals that knowingly harbored him," Schofield said. "I can't tell you that they will all be prosecuted, but they know who they are."
Investigators tracked movements, followed leads, interviewed family members, and eventually started looking hard at people who they believed were helping Perez-Sanchez hide.
BETHENCOURT: If they did know where he was, would they face charges?
SCHOFIELD: Yes.
BETHENCOURT: And what would that look like?
SCHOFIELD: You're harboring and aiding a fugitive, and you also have to live with your own conscience about what you did.
Schofield confirms Perez-Sanchez is a Mexican citizen, and his extradition to Las Vegas is questionable.
"Justice isn't done yet," he said. "There's still the process that's in the hands of the district attorney and the attorney general in Sinaloa."
Meanwhile, two young women are dead, two families are forever changed, and one mother is now joining another to seek accountability across borders.
"I am heartbroken that the mother will be going through what I’ve gone to through these last two years. I don’t desire this on anyone! It is very painful to lose your daughter and especially through a horrible femicide. No mother deserves this and I want the family to know that I am here to support them and will fight with them for justice. The fight is not over. Justice is still not completely served. We want him to serve prison time and for him to serve ideally here in Las Vegas. We are now on another wait to see what happens and we will continue fighting for justice to be completely served," said Tozzi's mother, Regina Lacerda. "I stand with her family now. We will fight for justice together. I want him to face charges here in the U.S."
Right now, Perez-Sanchez remains in custody in Mexico. A treaty between the U.S. and Mexico governs extradition, and under Mexican law, suspects can't be extradited if they face the death penalty or life without parole unless those penalties are waived. It's a process that can take years — and may never happen at all.
