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A woman who is accused of the slaughter of her wealthy husband and his two children has been arrested by police in Mexico after three years on the run. She was dubbed the "Black Widow."
Berenice Alanis is said to have ordered the triple shooting to secure a family inheritance valued at more than $19 million.
The three were gunned down at a gym owned by the family in Mexico City in a bloody execution-style killing on April 5, 2019.
Multimillionaire businessman Jacobo Quesada, from the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, which lies just north of the capital, and his two children—Patricia, 24, and 25-year-old Jacobo Jr—died in the bloodbath.
Alanis was arrested at an exclusive hotel in the seaside resort city of Acapulco on Wednesday, July 20.
She had already been charged with murder by prosecutors in Mexico City in December 2019.
Alanis had first been arrested immediately after the massacre, but after a judge ordered her release, she fled.
Local media reported at the time that she had spirited away her late husband's high-end car collection following her release.
The authorities are now investigating whether she used the money from the vehicles to fund her three years on the run from the law.
Jacobo had met Alanis in 2003 when he had hired her as a housekeeper. They soon embarked on a romantic relationship and later got married.
But things turned sour when Alanis allegedly cheated on Jacobo and the businessman decided to remove her from his will.
The shootings took place shortly afterward.
Jacobo owned several properties and his fortune was estimated at 400 million Mexican pesos, which is about $19.5 million.
It was on the night of April 5, 2019, when Jacobo and his children were at the gym in Mexico City where Alanis arrived to exercise.
Moments after Jacobo had posted a photo of Alanis dressed for her workout on social media, an armed man entered the premises and shot Jacobo and his children.
Police released an identikit of the killer following the triple shooting, but he has not yet been caught.
Following her latest arrest, Alanis was transferred to Mexico City and will be remanded in custody at the Santa Martha Acatitla women's prison following a medical examination.
The Mexico City Attorney General's Office said in a statement: "With the support and collaboration of staff from the Guerrero State Attorney General's Office, detectives from the Investigative Police arrested a woman for her probable participation in the crime of aggravated homicide, committed against three people, in 2019, in the borough of Gustavo A. Madero.
"Berenice 'N', alias 'Black Widow', was located in the municipality of Acapulco...and was transferred by PDI (Investigative Police) agents to Mexico City, to be placed at the disposal of the judicial authority in the Women's Center for Social Reintegration of Santa Martha Acatitla, after medical certification.
"According to the investigations by this Prosecutor's Office, in April 2019, Berenice 'N' appeared at a sports facility owned by her husband, located in the Residencial Zacatenco neighborhood, and after carrying out unusual activities in her routine, she asked the manager to do a tour of the property, supposedly to verify its condition.
"The inquiry carried out by the Public Ministry of the Territorial Investigation Prosecutor's Office in Gustavo A. Madero indicates that upon arriving at an apartment located on the first floor, the worker and the apprehended woman found the dead children of her spouse, who was also injured so he was taken to a hospital, where he passed away.
"As a result, ministerial personnel, experts and PDI agents carried out various investigations, which allowed establishing the probable participation of Berenice 'N' in the homicide of the three victims, whose motive could be related to a millionaire inheritance."
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.
