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Oct 9, 2007 7:14 pm US/Central
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Suspect In UNT Student's Murder Arrested In Mexico
CARROLLTON (CBS 11 News) ―
Ernesto Reyes, the suspect wanted in connection with the murder of UNT student Melanie Goodwin, was arrested in Mexico today.
United States Marshal Deputies and Mexican law enforcement authorities took Reyes into custody as he left a family member's house in Celaya Guanajuato, a town more than 200 miles northeast of Mexico City.
Mexican authorities signed an Emergency Provisional Arrest Warrant on October 6, 2007 and deputies from the U.S. Marshal Service began 24-hour surveillance on several locations.
Reyes is being held by Mexican authorities and is awaiting extradition back to the United States.
Every since Goodwin was killed her parents, Peggy and Glen, said they were worried that her alleged killer may do the same thing to someone else. During a press conference Tuesday a family friend said everyone is happy Reyes is in custody, but it does not take away their pain. "This does not bring back Melanie, it doesn't diminish the tragedy and the grief that the family is going through," said family spokesperson Matthew Bobo. "She's never gonna walk through the front door again, but this is certainly a piece of this process and it certainly brings closure for the family."
Goodwin's body was found in a grassy area near a Carrollton business parking lot in the 3200 of Keller Springs Road on September 26th. An autopsy found that the 19-year-old died from blunt force trauma.
Goodwin was last seen in the early morning hours of September 25th at a convenience store at Mayhill Road and I-35E in Denton. While at the store Goodwin was seen talking to Reyes and the two later left together in the victim's red 2002 Saturn 2-door car.
Goodwin's car was found a day later near the University of North Texas campus in Denton.
According to court documents, surveillance footage from TransTech, a Carrollton electronic payment processing company, shows Reyes dragging a body from a vehicle about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and starting a fire.
On September 27th police arrested 19-year-old Donovan Young of Carrollton for tampering with evidence in the case.
According to an affidavit Young told authorities he saw the body of a young woman in the backseat of Goodwin's car, but that the vehicle was being driven by his friend Reyes.
The document went on to say that Reyes, who had on a bloody shirt, told Young, "He needed help. He killed someone. Didn't mean to and needed to get rid of her body."
Young told authorities he gave Reyes a gas can, money for fuel, and later helped to abandon the car his friend had been driving.
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