Saturday, February 20, 2010

Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix man charged in wife's slaying

Devlin Houser For The Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:00 am

A Phoenix man faces charges in the death of his wife, whose body was found earlier this month by two bicyclists off Arizona 80 south of Benson.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office arrested Juan Pedro Leon, 42, on Thursday, after the Cochise County medical examiner identified the body as that of 33-year-old Maria Ramirez Orosco, said Carol Capas, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
Leon reported his wife missing to Phoenix policeon Feb. 4 and was called in for questioning after her body was identified.
Leon told detectives that he and his wife of 12 years were driving south on Interstate 10 the night of Feb. 3 when they got into an argument over domestic matters, Capas said.
She said Leon told officers that as the argument escalated, he pulled off the road, struggled with his wife, dragged her out of the car and choked her to death. Her body was found Feb. 8.
Orosco was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Leon, a permanent resident from Mexico, is being held on a first-degree murder charge at the Cochise County Jail on a $2 million cash bond.

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