Crime News

A Maryland woman’s tenacious quest to find her mother’s suspected killer has reportedly yielded results, with an arrest made more than 2,000 miles away, following her social media campaign to solve the 2014 murder.The crime occurred almost exactly a decade ago. It involved the abduction and murder of 28-year-old Amelia Ignacio, a mother of two, who was set to graduate from the University of Maryland within weeks.Shortly after finding Ignacio’s body in Greenbelt, police named a suspect, putting out a warrant for the arrest of the victim’s boyfriend, a man by the name of Juan Miguel Roman.Roman, who also used the last name Balderas, managed to evade arrest. Authorities believe he fled to Mexico.At the time of the murder, Ignacio’s daughter, Kiany DeJesus, was just 11. Now 21, DeJesus believes it’s time her mother’s killer is held accountable.”After all of this time … like after everything my family’s been through, I feel like they deserve it,” said DeJesus.DeJesus and a friend launched a social media campaign last year to track down Roman Balderas, her mother’s alleged killer.”I was posting pictures of him, old pictures of, you know, my family. I was posting pictures of my mom every day. I was contacting people on social media like Instagram, Facebook,” DeJesus explained.DeJesus claims her efforts paid off. Someone who knew Balderas, living a new life in Mexico under the name Pablo, turned him in. Greenbelt police confirmed an arrest in Mexico in December.A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service told local news stations they are unable to comment on the case or the status of any extradition proceedings.DeJesus is now speaking out about her own detective work. She wants to remind the community about her mother and hopefully apply some pressure to the authorities to bring Roman Balderas to justice.”I’m not giving up on my mother. I’m not giving up on my mom. I will not be happy until that man is in the USA,” DeJesus affirmed.