Michael Alfonso (born Michael Johnson; June 26, 1969) is an American former

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kn ...

who was convicted of multiple felonies, including two counts of murder, in the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. In January 2003, a year and half after the second 2001 murder, he was placed on the FBI's "

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 FBI, and William Ki ...

" list, with a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. After a year and half of being on the run, he was captured during a manhunt in Mexico and extradited back to the U.S. Alfonso's murders are disclosed and featured on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

television series ''

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

'',

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

series ''

I (Almost) Got Away with It ''I (Almost) Got Away with It'' is an American documentary television series on Investigation Discovery, debuting on January 12, 2010. The series profiles true stories of people who have committed crimes, and have avoided arrest or capture, bu ...

'', and the ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Ka ...

'' series twice.

Prior convictions

Alfonso was convicted in 1990 of raping a 17-year-old girl repeatedly in an apartment complex lobby, and required to register as a sex offender. Five years later in 1995, he was convicted of aggravated battery and possession of a weapon by a felon and was sentenced to four years in prison; he was released in 1998.

Flight and capture

After the second murder, on June 6, 2001, Alfonso went on the run and escaped to Mexico. In January 2003, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) placed him on the bureau's

list, as fugitive #476. The chase lasted over three years and covered three

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n countries, including

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, Guatemala and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

. Within months of his listing on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, Alfonso's crimes were featured across two episodes of the television show ''

''. Due to the media coverage, Mexican federal agents and American FBI agents received many tips on Alfonso's whereabouts. Once his location was verified, FBI agents were dispatched to assist Mexican authorities with his capture. On July 15, 2004, he was captured and extradited back to the U.S. soon after. He was charged with multiple crimes, including stalking, assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, homicide of an unborn child, and murder.

Conviction and sentencing

Alfonso pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the slayings of Sumanear Yang, 23, and Genoveva "Gena" Franco-Velasquez, 28. Yang, a hairstylist who was pregnant with Alphonso's child at the time, was shot to death in the parking lot of her

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

apartment complex in September 1992. Her body was found on November 8th, 1992 near

Yorkville, Illinois Yorkville (officially the United City of Yorkville) is a city and county seat of Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,533 at th2020 census History In 1836, the city of Yorkville was settled by early pioneers. Origi ...

. Years later, in the summer of 2001, Michael Alphonso embarked on a new relationship with recently separated mother, Gena Velasquez. On June 5th, 2001, Velasquez informed Alphonso that she and her husband were planning on fixing their marriage and getting back together. On June 6th, 2001, Alphonso confronted Velasquez outside a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

restaurant in

Carol Stream, Illinois Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Carol Stream was incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after its founder's daughter. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,854. History I ...

where Velasquez was employed. An argument ensued, and Alphonso shot Velasquez several times at point blank range, killing her. The prosecutor believed that Alfonso entered his guilty plea to avoid the possibility of a death sentence.

In popular media

Alfonso's fugitive case was reported on by the American docudrama series ''

''. The series used re-enactments and interviews with key persons to reveal the incidents of real mysteries that at that time were unsolved. (Episode information: season 12, episode 46; titled: "Wanted: Michael Alfonso"; originally aired on October 1, 2001.) Alfonso was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in January 2003. Within six months of his fugitive listing, the

television series ''

'' reported on Alfonso twice in March and May 2004. FBI spokesman Frank Bochte announced, "He was arrested recently after a person in Mexico recognized him from the television show America's Most Wanted and called authorities." An episode of ''

'' titled "Got Dumped" (season 1, episode 2), a documentary series on the

channel, originally aired on January 19, 2010. It reported on Alfonso's murders and violence against multiple women. The documentary also covered his escape to Mexico, where he attempted to start a new life. While on the run, he attempted to live in parts of Mexico, Guatemala and

before returning to Mexico, where he was apprehended.

References

External links