LCSO: Murder suspect fled to Mexico

The hunt for murder suspect Jose Marin Soriano has led to Mexico. Soriano has been on the run since the murder of one woman and the sexual assault of another woman at a home south of Cleveland on Saturday.

According to Liberty County Sheriff’s Capt. Billy Knox, Soriano crossed into Mexico within hours of the murder, prompting the apprehension phase of the investigation to now be turned over to the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

U.S. Marshals will continue working with Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Mexican authorities to apprehend the suspect and return him to the United States to face justice for his alleged crimes.

Authorities with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office say that the family members of the murder victim have asked to withhold her name from the public, and the sheriff’s office is honoring that request.

The victim perished after she was shot and tried to escape Soriano’s house on CR 3415 in the Rancho San Vicente subdivision off of FM 1010 (Plum Grove Road). She and the other victim, who survived, were reportedly lured to the house by Soriano after he claimed to have compromising photos of them.

According to LCSO statements, Soriano promised to delete the images if the women met him at his home. When they arrived, he handcuffed one woman – the surviving victim – to a bed and sexually assaulted her. The deceased woman was killed as she was attempting to escape. She was shot before crashing her vehicle in the woods across from Soriano’s house. The car caught on fire after the crash. An autopsy will determine if she died from the gunshot wound or the fire.

The surviving victim called 911 using Soriano’s phone, which he allegedly dropped in his haste to leave the house. The woman suffered non life-threatening injuries.