ENNIS, Texas — Editor's note: The video above is from a report on Oct. 21, 2022.
A suspect accused in the murder and burning of a teenage girl 10 years ago is now in North Texas jail after she was captured in Mexico, according to jail records.
Jennifer Puente, 29, was booked into jail in Ennis, Texas, after she was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in October 2022. She's been charged with murder, tampering with evidence/human remains and criminal mischief in the death of 15-year-old Moriah Gonzales in March 2012.
Jail records show Puente, who is an Ennis resident, was booked on Feb. 10, 2023.
Puente had been on the run since the March 2012 incident in which she allegedly stabbed and killed Gonzales. At the time of the incident, Puente was 18 years old.
Authorities said she allegedly discarded and burned Gonzales' body on the side of a road with the help of 40-year-old Joe Alvarado.
Alvarado has already been convicted in Gonzales' murder and is serving a 34-year sentence for the murder and an additional 20 years for tampering with evidence.
In October 2022, Mexican authorities alerted the Texas Department of Public Safety that Puente was in custody. After confirming her identity, the now 29-year-old was extradited to the United States.
After news of Puente's capture, Gonzales' family members told WFAA in October 2022 that they were thrilled.
"It just hit us all at once," Danielle Gonzales, Moriah's sister, said. "We knew this day would come but didn't know when."
"We just left it to God because we didn't know what to do," she added. "... We didn't expect something like this out of nowhere. It's almost disbelief that it took so long."
What happened
Moriah Gonzales was killed on March 17, 2012. Authorities said she, Alvarado and Puente had been hanging out at the home of Alvarado's mother.
Puente was Alvarado's ex-girlfriend.
Alvarado had claimed that at the time Puente was under the influence of drugs and threatened Gonzales playfully with a knife before allegedly stabbing her.
Alvarado testified that he agreed to dump and burn Gonzales' body with Puente along Knighthurst Drive in Ennis.
After finding Gonzales' body and starting an investigation, authorities said they found that her last contact was with Puente, which led to a search.
Authorities received a tip that Puente and Alvarado were at a Grand Prairie hotel. Alvarado was captured, but Puente escaped and went on the run.