Texas Mother Arrested in Mexico for 1996 Murder of 3-Year-Old Daughter

Maria Narez, a Texas mother accused of murdering her 3-year-old daughter Kassandra White in 1996, was arrested in Mexico on August 8, after nearly three decades as a fugitive, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement authorities confirmed the apprehension on August 10, ending a search that began when Narez fled the jurisdiction in late 1997.

The case against Narez began shortly after the death of her young daughter in mid-November 1996, according to official records from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. Court records state that Narez caused Kassandra’s death by shaking her and throwing her into a wall, which caused the toddler’s head to strike a door. A Tarrant County grand jury initially indicted Narez on a capital murder charge in April 1997.

Following her initial arrest, a court set her bail and later reduced it to $25,000. Narez posted the reduced bond and was released from detention pending trial. She failed to appear for subsequent court hearings later that year, prompting a warrant for her arrest in late 1997 after investigators determined she had crossed the border into Mexico to avoid prosecution.

District attorney records show that a grand jury issued a new indictment obtained by the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in 1999, which kept the capital murder allegations officially active against Narez within the court system despite her absence. Local investigators maintained contact with federal and international law enforcement bodies over the following decades to keep the investigation active.

“The DA’s office never gave up on bringing Narez back to face the charge against her and answer for the death of her daughter,” the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office stated in a public announcement released on August 10.

The fugitive hunt concluded on Saturday, August 8, through a coordinated operation between American and Mexican authorities. Collaborating through shared intelligence and operational teamwork, the Mexico Interpol office, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, and criminal investigators from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office successfully executed the apprehension. Law enforcement agencies have not publicly disclosed operational details, including the specific Mexican municipality where Narez was living or the exact circumstances of her apprehension.

Narez remains in custody in Mexico while authorities begin the formal international extradition proceedings required to return her to the United States, according to law enforcement officials. Once the extradition process is completed, she will be transferred to Tarrant County, Texas. Upon her return, she is scheduled to be formally arraigned on the capital murder charge before a state district judge, and prosecutors intend to move forward with trial proceedings.