Suspect wanted for 10-year-old murder extradited to U.S. from Mexico

HOUSTON

Guzman is in the Harris County jail. He faces capital murder charges for ambushing his own family almost 10 years ago.

"I was stabbed two times. One here and one on my arm," said victim Azucena Rodriguez.

"I got 14 stabs all on this side. Right here, on my back." said victim Patricia Rodriguez.

For the Rodriguez sisters, 10 years has both flown by and passed painfully slow.

"I remember everything, everything," said Patricia.

And for their mother who lost her 10-year-old child Rufina, or Rufi at the hands of a killer, it's time she will never regain.

"You wanna call her Rufi. She was my baby," said Rufina's mother Maria Manzo.

In 2004, Guzman attacked his family, stabbing each cousin, his aunt and uncle as they arrived home from work and school. The youngest, Rufi, was stabbed six times. Guzman fled to Mexico.

"When I opened the file, I said, I wanna get this guy no matter what," said Deputy U.S. Marshal Arthur Fernandez.

U.S. marshals and a host of other law enforcement agencies worked for years to track down Guzman in Mexico and bring him back to Harris County where he could stand trial for the heinous attack in which he's accused.

"I'm happy he's here. We can find out a lot of stuff we want to know since the beginning," said Azucena.

Young Rufina would be 20 today. Her family says the justice they've sought for all this time is for her.

"If he said, 'I'm sorry.' Do you accept that?" we asked.

"No, no, no. There's no excuse," said Manzo.

Eyewitness News spoke with Sgt. Robert Torres, the original detective on the case, he's now retired. But says he's happy to know his police work has been seen through and hopes the family who he remembers by name can find peace.

Find Sonia on Facebook at ABC13SoniaAzad or on Twitter at @abc13soniaazad

Take ABC13 with you!
Download our free apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices

Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.