Man accused of killing a young girl in 2000 extradited to Philadelphia to face charges

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After more than a quarter-century, a man accused of raping and killing a 5-year-old Philadelphia girl has been extradited to the city to face charges. 

Iriana DeJesus was raped and killed in July 2000, allegedly by Alexis Flores. He was deported to Honduras in 2005 — two years before police say his DNA was matched with evidence from the murder.

Iriana’s mother, Liza Suain DeJesus, said that when she found out Flores was extradited to Philadelphia to face charges she was overwhelmed with happiness. 

“I never felt so happy. Running back and forth in my apartment and just thanking God for never leaving me, never forsaking me,” she said.

DeJesus said her faith helped her through the years without justice following her daughter’s death. She told a story about being on a mission trip in Honduras and learning the man accused of killing her daughter was just minutes down the road.

“I went to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with my pastor to minister and do evangelizing,” she recalled. “He [Flores] was in Choluteca, 15 minutes … from where I was at. But I never went in vengeance.”

Other family members joined DeJesus, holding pictures of the young girl and a collage that showed her as a happy child.

“She deserves to be at peace, the little angel that she was and still is,” said Dessia Cruz, Iriana’s aunt. “As a community, it hurts to know the tragic things that happened to her. It has to be relived again.”

Cruz said she hopes there will be justice in the case, even though it has taken more than two decades to make an arrest.

Flores had been fighting extradition since he was arrested in February. His case reached Honduras’ equivalent of a superior court and the country’s Supreme Court.

He lost his appeals and was brought back to Philadelphia on Monday to face charges. He faces life in prison if convicted.