Man extradited from El Salvador for murder charge 20 years after wife’s death in Toronto

August 16, 2024 Canuck

A man who police allege fled to El Salvador in 2004 has been extradited and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife in Toronto two decades ago, police say.

In a news release issued Friday, Toronto police said the charge stems from the night of Aug. 31, 2004, when officers responded to a missing persons call in the area of Finch Avenue West and Weston Road.

When they got there, police discovered a woman in an apartment who had stab wounds and was “obviously deceased,” according to a post on the force’s website.

The victim was identified as 26-year-old Toronto woman Rosaura Tolentino Ramos.

Investigators later identified the accused as Juan Antonio Avalos, who was 42 years old at the time of his wife’s death. A warrant was issued for his arrest in October 2004, according to the news release.

Officers later discovered Avalos left the country immediately after Ramos’s death and fled to El Salvador, police said in the release, noting Canada did not have an extradition agreement with the Central American country in 2004.

Interpol also issued a red notice about the man at the time, which is a request to worldwide law enforcement to arrest a suspect pending extradition or similar legal action.

In February of this year, El Salvador’s government held an extradition hearing for the accused and determined he should be handed over to face charges, police say. On Thursday, Toronto police officers flew to El Salvador and brought Avalos back to Canada.

The 63-year-old Toronto man now faces a charge of second-degree murder, police say.

He briefly appeared in a virtual court hearing Friday morning.

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