The couple’s 7-month-old son was located in New Mexico and is now with family.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Police arrested a 27-year-old man in El Paso in connection with the death of his partner, who was found dead inside her Fort Worth apartment after relatives asked officers to check on her. The couple’s 7-month-old baby was reported missing but was later found safe in New Mexico.
The case quickly turned into a multiagency search across Texas and into a neighboring state, with the infant’s safety becoming an urgent concern. Fort Worth police have described the killing as domestic related. Investigators said information collected at the scene helped them identify and locate the suspect, who was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a murder charge with a $500,000 bond.
Relatives of 26-year-old Talia Sanchez said they began to worry after they could not reach her for days. The family said Sanchez’s mother tracked her phone to her workplace and found it hidden behind a pillar in a parking garage, a detail they took as a sign something was wrong. Family members said an argument had happened days earlier between Sanchez and the baby’s father, a man they knew as Elijah Perez.
Officers went to Sanchez’s apartment near the 7300 block of Harris Parkway at about 11:53 a.m. Wed., Feb. 11, for a welfare check, according to police and published reports. Police could not get inside at first. Investigators later obtained a warrant around 7 p.m. that day and entered the apartment, where they found Sanchez dead and saw evidence of a crime, authorities said. The death was later publicly linked to Sanchez through local records and reporting.
As detectives worked the scene, the search widened to the couple’s infant son, Levi, who was not in the apartment, relatives said. The family told reporters the baby had been missing for days. Sanchez’s sister, Teresa Lovitt, said the silence from Sanchez did not fit her. Lovitt said the family believed Sanchez would never have left her child behind. Lovitt said she reached out to ask what was happening and got no reply from Sanchez.
Lovitt described a brief phone call that raised more questions. She said Sanchez never answered a message, and that Perez later called back and said Sanchez had calmed down. Lovitt said another call came from Perez’s father, who asked where Sanchez was and what was going on. Those exchanges, combined with the missing phone, left relatives fearful that Sanchez had been harmed and that the baby could be in danger.
Police have not released details about how Sanchez died or the exact time of her death. Authorities have also not said where the baby was taken after Sanchez was killed, or how long Levi was gone before he was located. Investigators have not publicly described what led them to El Paso, a city more than 600 miles west of Fort Worth, other than to say information gathered by homicide detectives was shared with other agencies and helped lead to the suspect’s capture.
Officer Cynthia Woods, a Fort Worth police spokesperson, said investigators treated the case as a domestic related incident and coordinated with other law enforcement agencies. Woods said the information gathered at the scene was shared and ultimately led to the suspect being found. Police identified the suspect as Elijah Jordan Jacobo, who also uses the name Elijah Perez, according to reporting. Authorities said he was arrested in El Paso and booked into the county jail there.
Jail records and published reports listed Jacobo as facing a murder charge and being held on a $500,000 bond. Police have not said whether a weapon was recovered or whether additional charges could follow. It was also not immediately clear whether he has an attorney or when he could be returned to Tarrant County to face proceedings there, or whether the case will remain tied to the El Paso booking while prosecutors move forward.
The missing baby was found in New Mexico after relatives received a call that the child had been dropped off at a family home there, according to the Sanchez family. Relatives said Perez’s father told them he left the baby at the home. The baby was taken into the care of child protective services in New Mexico, the family said, and later reunited with Sanchez’s mother.
Authorities have not said whether Perez’s father is being investigated or interviewed as part of the case, or what arrangements were made to transport and shelter the baby before the drop-off. Officials also have not provided the child’s medical condition, other than that he was found safe. Family members said Levi is now back with Sanchez’s mother, and they are trying to build a stable plan for his care while the criminal case unfolds.
The death has shaken relatives who described Sanchez as a bright young woman and a devoted mother. Lovitt said the family is trying to focus on Levi and on how they will talk to him about his mother as he grows up. She said the family believes Sanchez did not choose to leave her son behind and would have chosen him every time if she had the chance.
Relatives said they are raising money for funeral expenses and seeking legal help as they pursue custody of the baby. The family said the grandparents are preparing for a court process that could take time, especially if the baby’s father remains alive and has parental rights that must be addressed through legal steps. Officials have not released details on any custody filings, but the family’s public statements show they expect the process to be complicated.
Investigators have not announced a public timetable for additional information, and police have not said whether more arrests are expected. Key unknowns include the exact sequence of events after the reported argument, where Sanchez’s phone went before it was found at her job, and how the baby traveled out of Texas. Police have also not disclosed whether surveillance video, digital records, or witness statements played a role in the suspect’s arrest.
For now, the case stands at two critical points: a murder suspect is in custody in El Paso, and the missing infant has been located and returned to family. Police and prosecutors are expected to continue gathering evidence while relatives make funeral plans and seek long-term custody arrangements for Levi.
Author note: Last updated February 16, 2026.