Virginia Mother Stabbed, Set on Fire; Teen Migrant Coworker Charged

A Virginia mother was fatally stabbed and set on fire on a jogging trail by a teenage coworker who had previously crossed the U.S. border illegally, authorities said.

Carmen Lizet Puch, 42, was discovered with stab wounds and gasoline poured on her body near her car in a parking lot at Great Falls Park in McLean, Virginia, early Monday. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Puch, who leaves behind a three-year-old daughter, had moved to Virginia from New Jersey and was working to provide a better life for her child, according to a GoFundMe campaign.

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Puch's death. Police allege the attack was premeditated, with Cedillos-Campos arming himself with a large knife and gasoline from the restaurant where he and Puch worked.

Video surveillance from the restaurant allegedly shows the suspect taking a knife, gloves, and a water bottle filled with gasoline shortly before the incident. Police Chief Kevin Davis stated that the suspect intended to harm and kill the victim. Detectives are investigating the nature of Puch's and Cedillos-Campos' relationship, noting it was described as an "intimate relationship" that "involve[d] other people."

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cedillos-Campos, originally from El Salvador, illegally entered the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, in 2024. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested him at the border, but he was subsequently released into the country. DHS has criticized the Biden Administration's immigration policies, stating that the administration "recklessly unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into American communities." The agency urged Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger to turn Cedillos-Campos over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Abdul Anwari, the owner of Bitez, the restaurant where Puch and Cedillos-Campos were colleagues, expressed shock and disbelief at the incident. Friends and colleagues remembered Puch as a soft-spoken, hardworking, and devoted mother.