(ProsperNews.net) – Police have arrested a teenage illegal immigrant for a brutal murder and mutilation in California. Fresno County Sheriff’s office confirmed the arrest in mid-April after finding Fraylee Herandez’s body in the trunk of a car – he had been dead for around 11 days.
The investigation began in January when officers received a call about an abandoned vehicle in Mendota, in California’s Central Valley. The Sheriff’s office later arrested an El Salvadorian migrant who was 17 at the time of the murder but had since turned 18. The suspect was detained at the Fresno County Juvenile Justice campus, but prosecutors are calling for him to be tried as an adult.
Police furthermore confirmed that the suspect has a record and was on probation for assaulting his mother. Investigators believe the 25-year-old victim knew the suspect but have not yet established the extent of their relationship. Officers said the extent of the mutilation involved suggests the murderer had a personal motive.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office has filed a petition to transfer the case to an adult court. Legal analyst Ralph Torres described the factors courts will use to determine the suspect’s future, including his criminal background and whether he has the potential to become a law-abiding adult. Mr. Torres estimates this could be difficult for the Hernandez murder suspect, given he had a previous history of assault.
All 50 states allow the transfer of juvenile offenders to adult courts through various means. A judicial waiver, for example, allows the juvenile court to determine the suspect’s fate, while a direct file permits prosecutors to file young offender cases to mainstream criminal courts.
The number of underage suspects tried in adult courts has exploded this century, and experts say this is a direct response to the growing number of crimes young people commit, as well as escalating violence. The age at which juveniles can transfer to adult courts varies from state to state.
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