Pueblo police arrest murder suspect related to dumpster homicide
UPDATE: A man initially sought as a person of interest in a woman’s bizarre homicide has been arrested by Pueblo police and faces a charge of first-degree murder.
Late Friday evening, police confirmed the arrest of Anthony Cuevas and his wife, Melanie Ann Cuevas, both 36. The husband also faces a charge of violating parole and his wife faces a charge of criminal impersonation.
Anthony Cuevas is believed to be the man who stuffed a woman’s body into a large suitcase and dropped it into a trash dumpster behind a car wash near the intersection of Ivywood Lane and Pueblo Boulevard.
Surveillance cameras from the car wash and a nearby apartment complex recorded the act that occurred Thursday morning.
Police said they contacted the couple at around 5:30 p.m. Friday after receiving several phone calls about them. Officers and detectives took the couple into custody near Adolfo’s Taco Shop, along U.S. 50, on Pueblo’s north side.
A viewer, Irvin Nunez, sent KRDO NewsChannel 13 a video clip of the arrest. Anthony Cuevas was seen resisting the arrest and had to be restrained by officers.
Police released no further details Friday, saying the victim’s name will eventually be released by the Pueblo County coroner.
Investigators initially wanted to question Anthony Cuevas as a person of interest in the homicide.
Several people on social media claim that the victim is Anthony Cuevas’ mother but authorities haven’t confirmed that.
No court date for the couple was announced.
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A homicide suspect was arrested Friday evening in connection with a woman’s body being dumped in a suitcase Thursday. That’s according to Pueblo PD Watch I & II Commander.
According to the report, officers, along with parole and detectives were able to locate the suspect near Adolfo’s restaurant on the northeast side. Police haven’t confirmed that the man arrested is Anthony Cuevas, who was previously identified as a person of interest.
However, a video of the arrest captured by the witness shows a man who very closely matches Cuevas’ description. A woman was also taken into custody.
Officers from the Police department along with parole and detectives were able to locate the homicide suspect on the northside near Adolfo’s restaurant. He was taken into custody along with second suspect without incident pic.twitter.com/RQnGJ4e0kU
— PPDWII&WIIICapt (@ppdwii) October 18, 2019
Check back for updates.
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The Pueblo Police Department says officers have found the vehicle that was seen in surveillance video Thursday morning when a man dumped a body in a suitcase inside a dumpster.
Friday afternoon, police identified a person of interest as Anthony “Antonio” Cuevas. Cuevas hasn’t been named a suspect by police, but several sources have posted pictures of him on Facebook saying that he killed another family member and stuffed her body in the suitcase.
Pueblo police say Cuevas has connections to Monte Vista and could be there.
Officers confirmed to KRDO that the suspect vehicle has been found. An exact description of the vehicle wasn’t given.
Police were called to a car wash on Ivywood Lane after the suitcase was discovered. After searching the dumpster, officers said the body of a woman was stuffed inside the suitcase.
The woman hasn’t been identified at this time. Police hope she can be identified by her distinctive tattoos.
The surveillance video was released Thursday evening, and officers are hoping the public can help identify the suspect.
Friday afternoon, detectives were called to a home in the 800 block of Euclid Avenue. Crime scene tape was set up around the home. That’s where investigators began searching for evidence, and it’s where Sgt. Frank Ortega gave an update on the case.
Another active crime scene was reported at Lake Pueblo State Park.
Ortega confirmed to KRDO that detectives are working on gathering evidence related to the case at the lake, but few other details are known. We have a crew getting information from the state park.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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The Pueblo Police Department is attempting to identify a homicide victim found in a suitcase that was placed in a dumpster behind a car wash Thursday.
“When I heard that, I thought it had to be a small person or someone chopped up,” said Kayla Diaz, a neighbor. “Why would someone do that? We have kids who play around here. They don’t need to see this.”
According to a release from police Thursday evening, the victim is a female who was wearing an Air Force T-shirt, M&M candy shorts and has several heart-shaped tattoos.
She has a very distinctive tattoo of a female clown on her right thigh. Her name and age are unknown.
“We do have some leads that we’re following up on” said Sgt. Franklyn Ortega. “We do have some witnesses who are giving us some information.”
The woman’s body was found between a commercial and residential area on Ivywood Lane, near the Pueblo Boulevard intersection on the city’s south side, after police responded to a report of a suspicious package or a bloody suitcase just before 9:30 a.m.
Surveillance video acquired by police from the car wash’s cameras show a man driving up to the dumpster just after 6:30 a.m., taking a large suitcase from his trunk and throwing it into the dumpster. He then drove away, apparently not drawing suspicion from drivers passing by.
“My window faces the car wash but I didn’t see or hear anything,” said Robert Woods, another neighbor. “I’m wondering how someone got a body in there because the lids on the dumpster usually are locked.”
Police sealed off the area around the car wash and cleared from the scene just after 5 p.m.
The suspect vehicle is a small, dark blue four-door sedan.
If you have any information about this incident or the identity of the suspect, Pueblo Police ask that you call Capt. Bravo (719) 320-6049, Sgt. Purvis (719) 320-6047, Detective Torres (719) 320-6037, or Detective Gravatt (719) 320-6022.
To remain anonymous, contact Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 542-STOP (542-7867).
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Pueblo Police say a body has been found inside a suitcase that was located in a dumpster near a car wash on Ivywood Lane.
Police wrapped the entire dumpster and used a tow truck to move it to a secure location to search Thursday morning.
At about 2:30 p.m., police sent an update saying a body was inside the suitcase.
KRDO Only 2019
