Cold Case detectives with the Phoenix Police Department have arrested a man after years of investigation in the 1998 heinous murder of a 28-year-old woman.
On July 9, 1998, Phoenix police officers responded to the shooting of a woman in a home near 14th Street and McDowell Road. Inside the house, officers found 28-year-old Sarah Carr with a gunshot wound. Carr died from her injury and the case was turned over to detectives assigned the Phoenix PD’s Homicide Unit.
The original detectives who worked this case only had a nickname for the suspect, but his identity was still unknown. The homicide investigation went cold until 2016 when cold case detectives were able to identify the suspect as Javier Lorenzano-Nunez, now 58-years-old. Detectives learned Lorenzano-Nunez spent years in California after the murder and had been living in Mexico for the past decade. Working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, investigators were able to submit the case which resulted in Lorenzano-Nunez being indicted and an outstanding arrest warrant was issued for the homicide.
Detectives contacted the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Internal Affairs who worked with law enforcement officials in Mexico to locate and arrest Lorenzano-Nunez. The Department of Justice and the U.S. Marshals Service worked to finalize and complete the extradition of Lorenzano-Nunez to Phoenix on October 23, 2024. The Phoenix Police Department took custody of Lorenzano-Nunez Wednesday evening who was then booked into jail for the outstanding warrant related to the homicide.
After 26 years, the suspect in the murder of Sarah Carr will now face accountability and charges related to his actions in July 1998.