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The suspect in the murder of 21-year-old Arizona State University student Kyleigh Sousa is being held on $1 million bond, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Superior Court announced this morning.
Joseluis Marquez was arrested Tuesday night at the home of a friend in Phoenix.
Police say Marquez is responsible for the dragging death of Sousa.
On May 26, police say he approached Sousa and a friend outside of an IHOP restaurant in Tempe. Marquez, police allege, grabbed Sousa’s purse and drove off — with Sousa tangled in the purse straps.
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Sousa was dragged 30 feet. She sustained head and neck injuries, and later died at a Valley hospital.
The car he allegedly used to drag Sousa to her death, a 2008 Dodge Charger — similar to the vehicle described by witnesses of the murder — was also located and has been impounded by police.
According to the probable cause statement obtained by New Times,
Marquez rented the car in California prior to the murder. He was spotted
driving it by a traffic camera in Tempe 16 days before Sousa was
killed, on May 10.
Other passengers in the car at the time of the murder have been
identified by police, but haven’t been charged with a crime — yet.
According to the probable cause statement, the other passengers identified Marquez as the person driving the car — and the person who grabbed Sousa’s purse — the night of the murder.
Marquez was booked on one count of first degree murder. However, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery says his office will review the case to determine whether the evidence could support a first-degree murder charge.
