‘The fight is not over,’ says mother of slain Las Vegas woman after man arrested
The mother of slain Las Vegas woman Tabatha Tozzi expressed mixed emotions Wednesday following the arrest almost two years later of her daughter’s alleged killer in Mexico in connection with, according to Mexican media reports, the slaying of another woman there.
“I am happy and also very sad,” said Regina Lacerda in a statement Wednesday. “The fight is not over. Justice is still not completely served. We want him to serve prison time and for him to serve here in Las Vegas.”
Oswaldo Natanahel Perez-Sanchez, 28. who is suspected in the 2023, shooting death of Tozzi, 26, in Las Vegas, was arrested in Mexico on Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Las Vegas police have said that Perez-Sanchez, who was Tozzi’s then-boyfriend, shot Tozzi in the head amid an argument while they were both in Tozzi’s car just before 11 a.m. on April 22, 2023, a Saturday, in the 8100 block of Leger Drive just west of South Cimarron Road and north of Alta Drive.
Perez-Sanchez then allegedly carjacked Tozzi’s friend and drove away.
“This arrest comes nearly two years after the murder of Tabatha Tozzi,” the Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release Wednesday. “Following the homicide, several local and international law enforcement agencies conducted an exhaustive investigation to locate and apprehend Perez-Sanchez after he fled to Mexico.”
Accused of killing 26-year-old woman in Mexico
According to Mexican authorities and published news reports, including those in the Mexican news outlet Riodoce, Perez-Sanchez is accused of killing Vivian Karely, 26, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
Identified in some reports as “Oswaldo Natanahee” and “Jorge N,” Perez-Sanchez was detained Tuesday at the Aguaruto Penitentiary Center in Sinaloa, reports said.
Metro said in its news release that Perez-Sanchez remained in Mexico on local charges pending extradition to the United States.
In the Metro news release, Gary Schofield, U.S. Marshal for the District of Nevada, said law enforcement “relentlessly pursued” Perez-Sanchez.
“The family can rest knowing that he is now in custody,” Schofield said.
Tozzi’s mom ‘heartbroken’
In her statement, Lacerda said she can relate to the pain that Karely’s family must feel following her death.
“(Vivian Karely’s name) deserves to be honored and we will keep honoring her as well,” Lacerda said. “I am heartbroken that the mother will be going through what I’ve gone to through these last two years. I don’t desire this on anyone.”
Karely disappeared on March 22 and was found slain on April 7, Riodoce reported.
Lacerda said she knew that the arrest “was arriving soon, and it finally did.”
According to a news release from the office of the attorney general of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, Perez-Sanchez was arrested in Ciudad Obregon, a city with a population of over 400,000 in the state of Sonora in northwest Mexico.
The release states that Perez-Sanchez is tied to “crimes linked to the disappearance of persons.” Perez-Sanchez, according to a Riodoce report, was located by authorities “through the use of technological means.” The report, which cited a top law enforcement official, also said Perez-Sanchez had been using the name “Jorge” because that is the name of one of his relatives.
In the Metro news release, Spencer Evans, the FBI’s special agent in charge for Las Vegas, said “the collaboration required to apprehend this fugitive exemplifies the importance of teamwork.”
Tozzi’s loved ones, according to the statement from Lacerda, plan to have a celebration of life for her from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. April 24 at Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas.
Lacerda also praised those who have supported her family and loved ones in the nearly two years since Tozzi was killed. Since Tozzi’s death, her family and friends have worked to keep the case in the public eye by organizing rallies and public celebrations of Tozzi’s life, all while calling for justice and demanding that Perez-Sanchez be found and arrested.
“I want to say thank you to everyone that has supported us and is still supporting us,” Lacerda said. “Thank you to the police, the FBI, the Marshall, the Mexican police, the media here and the media in Mexico.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X