Couple arrested for torturing child to death and sexually abusing and ... trends now
A couple who were on the run for two years have been arrested on suspicion of torturing a seven-year-old to death and sexually abusing and trafficking other children.
Edgar Salvador Casian-Garcia, 34, and his girlfriend, Araceli Medina, 38, had been placed on the US Marshals' 15 Most Wanted in February, the first time a couple had made the list.
The pair were taken into custody by Mexican officials, the Marshals Service said on Friday, the week prior to being charged in Franklin County, Washington, with aggravated murder, four counts of child rape, and child assault.
Five of their children, who had been listed as missing and endangered, were rescued during the arrest. The children were returned to the United States and placed in protective custody, the US Marshals said.
Investigators said they believed the couple were abusing and trafficking their children.
Edgar Salvador Casian-Garcia, 34, and his girlfriend, Araceli Medina, 38 had been elevated to the marshals' 15 Most Wanted in February, the first time a couple had made the list
Casian-Garcia and Medina were taken into custody last week by Mexican officials, the Marshals Service said, after being charged in Franklin County, Washington, with aggravated murder, four counts of child rape, and child assault. Two of Casian-Garcia's daughters, aged eight and three, were found abandoned in Tijuana, Mexico, in late 2020
Two of Casian-Garcia's daughters, aged eight and three, were found abandoned in Tijuana, Mexico, in late 2020.
The two girls were taken into child protective custody in Mexico, but word of their recovery did not reach their hometown of Pasco, Washington, for another half a year.
'Both girls showed signs of severe physical and sexual abuse,' said the US Marshals. 'Subsequent forensic interviews done with both girls determined that Casian-Garcia and Medina had likely been abusing and sex trafficking the children.'
According to police in Pasco, Washington, the remains of the girls' seven-year-old brother were later discovered in early 2022 by hikers in rural Washington. Authorities said they suspect the boy was tortured to death and
