Man arrested for 1998 murder of 28-year-old Phoenix woman

Phoenix police say a man has been arrested in connection to a 1998 cold case murder.

On July 9, 1998, 28-year-old Sarah Carr was shot inside her home near 14th Street and McDowell Road and later died.

The Phoenix Police Department's homicide unit investigated the case and was only able to find a nickname for the suspect, and the case eventually went cold.

In 2016, cold case detectives were able to use new technology to connect the murder to now-58-year-old Javier Lorenzano-Nunez.

Detectives learned Lorenzano-Nunez spent years in California after the murder and was now living in Mexico.

Over the course of several years, a warrant was issued for Lorenzano-Nunez's arrest and the U.S. Justice Department was able to work with law enforcement in Mexico recently to have Lorenzano-Nunez taken into custody.

"I think she's dancing in heaven right now," Peggy Carr, the sister of Sarah, told Phoenix police after the arrest.

Lorenzano-Nunez was then extradited to Phoenix and taken into Phoenix police custody on October 21, 2024.

"After 26 years, the suspect in the murder of Sarah Carr will now face accountability and charges related to his actions in July 1998," the Phoenix Police Department said in a news release. "The Phoenix Police Department’s Homicide Unit has yet again shown its incredible work ethic and its core value of honoring every victim of every homicide in the city, regardless of how old an investigation may be."

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