A 19-year-old from El Salvador has been arrested and charged with the fatal stabbing of a female co-worker near a Virginia trail. Police identified the victim as 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch, a mother of a 3-year-old girl.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis announced Wednesday that Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos is accused of killing Puch, who was found with multiple stab wounds and doused in gasoline in the parking lot of Difficult Run Park in Great Falls on Monday. Investigators determined that Cedillos-Campos and Puch worked together at Bitez restaurant in Herndon, Virginia, and had been in an "intimate relationship" prior to the incident.
According to Davis, surveillance footage shows Cedillos-Campos taking a fixed-blade knife, latex gloves, and a water bottle from the restaurant on the night of the murder, indicating premeditation. He allegedly siphoned gasoline from a motorcycle into the water bottle in an unsuccessful attempt to set Puch's body on fire.
"The way that she was treated by this killer was reprehensible," Davis stated.
A jogger discovered Puch's body next to her vehicle around 6:45 a.m. Monday and called 911.
Cedillos-Campos was apprehended in Maryland on Wednesday morning and is awaiting extradition to Virginia. Police noted that he has confessed to the killing and is cooperating with the investigation. Davis emphasized that the suspect's immigration status is not a factor in how the police conduct their investigation.
Records indicate Cedillos-Campos was arrested by Border Patrol agents in April 2024 after illegally crossing into the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, during the current administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He was released by Customs and Border Protection.
Bitez owner Abdul Anwari expressed his shock and sorrow over the incident, noting that Puch's 3-year-old daughter is now under the care of family. A GoFundMe account has been established to assist with funeral costs and to support the child.