Suspect in woman’s 2020 slaying back in Las Vegas after extradition from Mexico

A man who was wanted by authorities in connection with the 2020 killing of a Las Vegas woman is back in Southern Nevada after his extradition from Mexico, law enforcement officials announced in a news conference Thursday.

Erick Rangel-Ibarra, 30, a suspect in the killing of Lesly Palacio, was returned to Las Vegas on Thursday, according to the Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service.

Rangel-Ibarra was arrested in Mexico in July 2024 and taken into custody. Metro had obtained an arrest warrant for Rangel-Ibarra in September 2020 on charges of open murder and destroying or concealing evidence, and on Thursday, he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on those charges, jail records showed.

“Erick has been extradited back to Las Vegas and he will stand trial for Lesly’s murder,” said Lt. Robert Price of Metro’s Homicide Section at a news conference Thursday. “While we can never bring complete closure to Lesly’s family, we hope this is a step closer to getting the resolution that family deserves.”

Ofelia Markarian, an attorney representing Lesly Palacio’s family, called Thursday a “huge day,” though she cautioned that a “long” legal process still needs to play out in the U.S.

“He’s going to have to face Nevada law now and face a Nevada judge,” Markarian said. “He’s going to have to answer our questions about what happened to Lesly.”

Palacio was reported missing on Aug. 30, 2020, Price said. Her body was found 10 days later in Moapa Valley, near Valley of Fire State Park.

Rangel-Ibarra’s father, Jose Rangel, admitted to helping his son, who was 25 at the time, move Palacio’s body, according to court records. Both men then fled to Mexico, authorities said.

Rangel, who returned to the United States and gave himself up at a San Diego border checkpoint in 2021, pleaded guilty to destroying evidence and accessory to commit murder in a Las Vegas court. Rangel served less than a year before being released.

“Erick needs to pay for what he did,” Markarian said. “What justice does not look like is what happened to Erick’s father. Walking out after just a couple of months … that was not justice.”

Gary Schofield, who heads the U.S. Marshals Service in Nevada, said Thursday that the pursuit of Rangel-Ibarra was “relentless.”

“On behalf of the United States of America, we would like to thank the Mexican government for their partnership in the pursuit of fugitives, specifically this fugitive,” Schofield said. “Our Mexican law enforcement partners do this work with us every day at great risk and we owe them a debt of gratitude.”

Palacio was last seen by family when she went to get drinks with Rangel-Ibarra.

Prosecutors said during Rangel’s case that surveillance video showed Rangel and his son dragging Palacio’s body from the younger man’s home on Aug. 29, 2020, and placing it into a pickup.

Almost exactly five years to the day that Palacio went missing, Markarian said her family is now hopeful that Rangel-Ibarra will be “put away for a very, very long time.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.