Alexis Flores (born July 18, 1975) is a Honduran fugitive wanted for the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

, and murder of five-year-old Iriana DeJesus in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 2000. Flores was the 487th fugitive to be placed on the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Inv ...

list. On March 6, 2025, he was removed from the list for no longer meeting the list criteria. Despite his removal from the Top Ten List, he remains a highly wanted fugitive.

Background

Flores was born on July 18, 1975, in Honduras although he has used dates of birth ranging from 1975 to 1982. Flores has a large surgical scar on his neck as a result of an injury sustained in

Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...

in Honduras in 1998.

Kidnapping and murder charges

Around summer 2000, a

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

drifter only known as "Carlos" (or "Carlo") had been given shelter, clothing, and work as a handyman by Hunting Park,

, resident Jorge Contreras. On August 3, five days after being reported missing, the body of five-year-old Iriana DeJesus was found in the basement of an empty apartment building where "Carlos" is believed to have stayed. She had been

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexua ...

strangled Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...

, and wrapped in a

trash bag A bin bag, rubbish bag (British English), garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag (American English) or refuse sack is a disposable receptable for solid waste. These bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides of th ...

. A T-shirt bearing a distinct political logo was found near Iriana's body with her blood on it. When police questioned Contreras about the shirt, he recognized it as one of the articles of clothing he had lent to "Carlos," who had not been seen in the area since the girl was reported missing. "Carlos" then became wanted for questioning, and a sketch of him was profiled on ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

''.

Arrests and deportation

Flores was arrested for

shoplifting Shoplifting (also known as shop theft, shop fraud, retail theft, or retail fraud) is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours. The terms ''shoplifting'' and ''shoplifter'' are not usually defined in law, and genera ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in 2002. Two years later, police came to Flores' residence in response to a noise complaint. After giving fraudulent

identity document An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...

s to police, Flores was arrested for possession of a

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific mens rea, intent to wikt:defraud#English, defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be fo ...

device, a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

in Arizona. When he was arrested, Flores had a welcoming demeanor, was friendly, and cooperated with the police during questioning. Upon entering his apartment for further investigation, officers noticed pornography spread out across the floors. Flores told immigration officials that he had lived in

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hameln-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübb ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, prior to living in Phoenix. He was incarcerated for 60 days and deported to Honduras after his release in June 2005.

DNA match and addition to FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

In 2006, Flores'

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

sample taken in Arizona was added to the

Combined DNA Index System The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is the United States national DNA database created and maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. CODIS consists of three levels of information; Local DNA Index Systems (LDIS) where DNA profiles ori ...

. In March 2007, his DNA sample positively matched DNA found at the crime scene in Philadelphia. It has been determined that "Carlos" and Flores are the same person. On March 22, 2007, a local

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

was issued in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Flores was charged with murder and various other felonies. On the same date, a federal arrest warrant for Flores was issued in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Flores was added to the

's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 2, 2007. He replaced Shauntay Henderson on the list. There is a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading directly to Flores' capture offered by the FBI. He is also the subject of an

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

Red Notice An Interpol notice is an international alert circulated by Interpol to communicate information about crimes, criminals, and threats by police in a member state (or an authorised international entity) to their counterparts around the world. The in ...

. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Flores is fluent in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and English, and is believed to be either in his native Honduras or to have returned to the United States. In March 2024, the FBI released a new age-progression image of Flores, showing what he may look like currently. On March 6, 2025, Flores was removed from the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for no longer meeting the list criteria. He was replaced by

Ryan Wedding Ryan James Wedding (born 14 September 1981) is a Canadian drug trafficker and former Olympic snowboarder. He competed in the men's parallel giant slalom event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, placing 24th in the event. On 6 March 2025, Wedding was ...

. Despite being removed from the list, the FBI announced that he will remain on their website on its Most Wanted page.

References

External links