Posted on Thu, Jul. 10, 2008 Kershaw slaying suspect wanted in Mexican homicide
By RICK BRUNDRETT - rbrundrett@thestate.com
A man charged with killing his girlfriend in Kershaw County also is wanted in connection with a homicide in Mexico, Kershaw County Sheriff’s deputies said today.

Juan Carlos Cruz Estrada, 38, of Charlotte, initially denied any involvement in the disappearance of Ada Torruco, 33, also of Charlotte, who was last reportedly seen on May 27, Sheriff’s Capt. David Thomley said.

Torruco’s remains were found Wednesday in a wooded area off S.C. 97 in Lancaster County, though investigators believe she was killed earlier off Kelly Road — a dirt road near S.C. 97 — in the Liberty Hill section of Kershaw County near the Lancaster County line and Lake Wateree, Thomley said.

Estrada and a co-defendant, Javier Aguilar Rosas, 29, of Charlotte, are each charged with murder and remain in the Kershaw County jail, Thomley said.

Both men are illegal immigrants, said Barbara Gonzalez, the Southern regional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

While investigating Torruco’s disappearance, which was reported June 10 by relatives, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police learned that Estrada was wanted in connection with a homicide of a female in Mexico, Thomley said.

Neither Thomley, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials could provide details Thursday about the Mexican case. Gonzalez said only that Estrada is “wanted in his native Mexico for an unrelated homicide.â€