http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/15447166.htm

Posted on Wed, Sep. 06, 2006

Woman found slain in Forsyth motel room
Police believe homicide suspect might have fled to Mexico
By Liz Fabian
TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITER

FORSYTH - After a Norcross woman was found dead in a motel room, Forsyth's police chief worries her suspected killer will elude capture.

"That's our fear - that he's made it to Mexico and we won't get him," said Chief John Clifton, who is investigating his first homicide since becoming Forsyth's police chief in December.

A housekeeper working Monday morning at the Comfort Inn on Harold G. Clarke Parkway found the body of 21-year-old Gloria Isabella Mata, according to a news release from the Forsyth Police Department.

An autopsy determined Mata died of strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, the release stated.

The prime suspect, Jose William Rodriguez, 27, who has ties to the Atlanta area, is believed to have fled across the Mexican border, said Sgt. Matthew Perry, public information officer for the Forsyth Police Department.

"(Investigators) picked up a hit on a cell phone tower on the Texas-Mexico border from his cell phone," Perry said. "But we don't know if he is with his phone."

Police investigators, who are working with the GBI, have secured a murder warrant for Rodriguez, Perry said.

He was last seen driving a red Honda Civic with Georgia license plate number AGR 3737, the release stated.

Because Rodriguez might have fled the country, he will be harder to catch, Clifton said.

"That's one of the problems with Mexico," Clifton said. "If it is a death-penalty case, they will not arrest and extradite. We've got to pretty much hope he comes back voluntarily or goes to another country that will extradite him."

Rodriguez and Mata were romantically involved, Clifton said after investigators talked with Mata's family near Atlanta.

Authorities waited until Tuesday afternoon to release information about Mata's death because officers had numerous questions to sort out before alerting the media, Clifton said.

Perry said he fielded several calls from Forsyth residents seeking information about the killing. Clifton said he's trying to reassure the public.

"We're trying to get the point across it was not local residents," Clifton said. "We believe these people were just passing through and something tragic happened. We don't have a killer loose in our community. There's no need to fear."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Forsyth Police Department at 944-6022, the GBI at (800) 597-TIPS or Macon Regional CrimeStoppers at 742-2330 or (877) 68-CRIME.


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To contact Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 or e-mail lfabian@macontel.com