Decapitation suspect from California captured in Mexico, returned to US to face charges

Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times on Jan 29, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — An Anaheim woman, after five months on the run, has been captured in Mexico and returned to Orange County to face murder charges in the decapitation of her boyfriend.

Alyssa Marie Lira, 23, faces charges of murder and felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon in the slaying of 55-year-old Enrique Gonzalez-Carbajal, whose headless body was found by authorities inside her Anaheim home.

After the discovery of the body on Aug. 25, Anaheim homicide detectives focused their investigation on Lira and identified her as the murder suspect, and learned in the immediate aftermath of the slaying, she crossed the border. According to investigators, she only knew the victim for two months, and so far, they have termed it as a domestic violence killing.

Working with the FBI in Mexico, Mexican authorities, and the Orange County district attorney's office, investigators tracked Lira to a home south of the border where she was apprehended. On Jan. 22, Mexican authorities turned her over to investigators at the San Ysidro border checkpoint.

"Nothing, not time, not distance, nor foreign borders, will thwart our pursuit of justice, and Orange County law enforcement will continue to go the very ends of the earth to carry out our mission and hold criminals accountable for the heinous acts they commit," said Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer.

"This investigation and prosecution are a testament to the tenacity and the dedication of the Anaheim Police Department, of the Orange County district attorney's office, and of our federal and international partners to identify a cold-blooded killer, track her down in a foreign country, and bring her back to the United States to face the full weight of the law."

Lira is scheduled to appear in a Fullerton courtroom Feb. 13 to enter a plea to the charges. She is now in Orange County jail on a no-bail hold. She faces 25 years to life if convicted.