Police say multiple agencies and license plate reader technology helped locate the 35-year-old suspect after a 26-year-old woman was found dead.
BARBERTON, Ohio — A man charged with murder after a 26-year-old woman was found dead inside a Barberton home was arrested in Arizona near the Mexican border, police said, ending a search that stretched more than 2,000 miles from Northeast Ohio.
Barberton police identified the suspect as Marcos Antonio Huerta-Garcia, 35, of Zapotitlán Tablas in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Police said Huerta-Garcia had been living and working in the United States and was residing at the Wooster Road West home with the woman. He was taken into custody in Yuma County, Arizona, and was being held there while awaiting extradition to Ohio.
The arrest followed the discovery of the woman inside a residence in the 1500 block of Wooster Road West. Police and emergency medical crews responded to the address at about 11:25 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, after authorities received a report involving a suspicious death. Officers had also been trying to locate a person who had been reported missing earlier that day.
First responders found the 26-year-old woman inside the home with multiple stab wounds. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said she was pronounced dead at the scene early Saturday. Her identity had not been released as authorities worked to confirm her identification and notify family members.
Police said information and evidence gathered while officers spoke with other residents at the home led detectives to call in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The case then developed into a homicide investigation, with Barberton police, BCI and other agencies working to identify and locate a person believed to be responsible.
Investigators eventually focused on Huerta-Garcia. Barberton police said other law enforcement agencies assisted as authorities tracked him across the country. Police also said automated license plate reader technology was used during the search. Authorities reported locating Huerta-Garcia as he was traveling toward Mexico, though police have not publicly detailed the full sequence of locations investigators used to trace him.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety stopped and arrested Huerta-Garcia near Interstate 8 in Yuma County, according to Barberton police. Yuma County jail records listed him in custody. The arrest left the next stage of the case dependent on the extradition process that would return him to Ohio to face the murder charge.
Authorities have not publicly released a motive or a detailed account of what they believe happened inside the Wooster Road West home. Police have also not released additional information about the relationship between Huerta-Garcia and the woman beyond saying they were both residing at the property. The murder charge is an allegation, and the case has not been adjudicated.
The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office is responsible for determining the official cause and manner of the woman’s death. Barberton police and BCI continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the homicide as Huerta-Garcia remained in custody in Arizona awaiting extradition to Ohio.
Author note: Last updated September 6, 2026.