Tucson Man Accused Of 17-Year-Old Cousin's Murder

TUCSON, AZ — The Tucson Police Department is accusing a Tucson man in the murder of his 17-year-old cousin, according to a release from the department.

Police say on March 22, they responded to the 6600 block of East Calle Alegria on a report of a missing person. Police arrived and spoke with Gerardo Salinas, 32, who said his 17-year-old cousin, Sofia Hurtado, had been missing since March 19.

Salinas told police Hurtado lived in Mexico with her mother, but that he picked her up on March 15 and brought her back to Tucson for a visit. Salinas let the officers in his home and showed them the room where Hurtado had been staying, police said.

The officers found what they believed to be dry blood. After an interview with Salinas and his live-in girlfriend, they got a search warrant for the home.

Police said forensic evidence showed a violent crime had been committed in the home.

Detectives found in a nearby dumpster a trash bag with bloodstained female clothing and items from Salinas' home, the release said.

Police also discovered that on March 18, Hurtado sent a message to a friend in Mexico saying she wasn't safe.

That friend told Hurtado's mother, who tried to reach Salinas. After failed attempts, she finally got a hold of him, and he told her Hurtado ran away. She told him to report her as missing.

Detectives gathered evidence from the home and questioned Salinas again, leading them to discover several burial sites throughout Pima County, the release says. They found remains of Hurtado at each site.

Salinas was arrested on charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and abandoning and concealing a dead body.