Suspect Extradited from Mexico in Sutter County Cold Case Homicide
Above: Francisco Arellano in 1999 (L) and 2022 (R) | Yuba City PD
Yuba City Police have announced the extradition from Mexico of a suspect wanted in connection to a cold case homicide from 1999.
According to a department Facebook post, Francisco Arellano is identified as the primary suspect in the July 26, 1999, murder of his estranged wife, 32-year-old Blanca Duenas-Arellano.
Duenas-Arellano was found dead on the 600 block of Queens Avenue, with her husband, age 27 at the time, being identified as the suspect soon after. Before authorities were able to make an arrest, however, Arellano had fled to Mexico with the couple’s two children, police said.
His exact whereabouts remained unknown for the next twenty years.
Investigators finally caught a break in 2019, when they learned Arellano was living in the state of Morales, Mexico. On June 22 of this year, Arellano (now 51) was located and arrested with the assistance of U.S. Marshalls.
Arellano was extradited back to the U.S. on November 18 and remains in custody without bail at the Yuba County jail.
