Daughter says social media helped catch mom’s suspected killer after 10 years
GREENBELT, Md. (WJLA) - A Maryland woman says her social media effort to find her mother’s suspected killer has paid off with an arrest made 2,000 miles away.
Emilia Ignacio, a 28-year-old mother of two, was abducted and murdered in April 2014. Shortly after her body was found, police put out an arrest warrant for 34-year-old suspect Juan Miguel Roman, who was the victim’s boyfriend. But Roman, who also used the last name Balderas, managed to avoid arrest. Police believed he fled to Mexico.
At the time of the murder, Ignacio’s daughter, Kiany DeJesus, was just 11. She is now 21, and as an adult, she says it’s time her mother’s killer is held accountable.
“After all of this time, after everything my family’s been through, I feel like they deserve it,” DeJesus said.
So, last year, DeJesus and a friend launched a social media campaign to track down Roman, Ignacio’s alleged killer.
“I was posting pictures of him, old pictures of my family. I was posting pictures of my mom every day. I was contacting people on social media, like Instagram, Facebook,” DeJesus said.
The 21-year-old says her efforts ultimately paid off. In December 2023, someone contacted DeJesus, claiming she knew Roman, who was living a new life in Mexico under the name Pablo. DeJesus says the woman called authorities, and Roman was arrested.
“The rage I grew up with turned me into a detective, I suppose,” DeJesus said. “I finally felt the relief – no more anxious breaths, no more night terrors. I can finally stop searching Google for Juan Miguel Roman.”
Greenbelt Police confirmed an arrest in Mexico in December.
A spokesperson for the United States Marshals Service says they are unable to comment on the case or the status of any extradition proceedings.
DeJesus is now speaking out about her detective work to remind the community about her mother and hopefully apply some pressure to the authorities to bring Roman to justice.
“I’m not giving up on my mother. I will not be happy until that man is in the USA,” she said.
Ignacio was set to graduate from the University of Maryland just a month after her death. At the time, her friends said her aim was to become a lawyer to help the immigrant community.
Copyright 2024 WJLA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
