Salvadoran national arrested in fatal Virginia stabbing

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, a 19-year-old Salvadoran national, has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch. Puch, a resident of Reston, Virginia, was discovered Monday morning near a gravel parking lot at Great Falls Park after being stabbed and doused in gasoline.

Federal sources indicate that Cedillos-Campos had been apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in April 2024 but was subsequently released into the United States. Investigators allege that the suspect and the victim had worked together at a restaurant in Herndon and shared an intimate relationship. Authorities state that Cedillos-Campos left the workplace with a large knife and gloves before traveling to the park, where he allegedly attempted to set the victim on fire.

The incident has drawn scrutiny toward Fairfax County, which is currently under a Department of Justice investigation. The probe by the Civil Rights Division is examining whether the local Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office provided preferential treatment to criminal defendants who are undocumented immigrants.