US most wanted criminal caught in El Salvador

A former US marine who was hit with the highest ever bounty for a target of the US Marshals has been caught in El Salvador.

Raymond 'RJ' McLeod has been one of America's most wanted men for his alleged role in the death of girlfriend Krystal Mitchell in 2016.

On the run for several years, the US Marshals added him to their list of 15 most wanted criminals and posted a $50,000 bounty for information leading to his arrest.

That's double the normal amount as almost everyone else on the list has a bounty of $25,000 for people who provide information that leads to their arrest.

Only Lester Eubanks, who has been on the run since 1973, shares McLeod's bounty of $50,000.

Mitchell was found dead on 10 June, 2016, in an apartment she had been staying in with McLeod and detectives found signs of a struggle at the scene.

US Marshals

The last time she was seen alive was with her boyfriend McLeod, and the former US marine became a wanted man in connection with her death.

Going on the run, McLeod's path was tracked through Mexico, Guatemala and Belize but investigators lost track of his whereabouts after 2018.

However, he has since been found and arrested after authorities received a tip that he was living in the El Salvadoran city of Sonsonate and teaching English there.

Arrested at around 4:30pm local time on Monday (29 August), he will be going back to the US to stand trial for the murder of Krystal Mitchell.

Described by US Marshals as an 'avid body builder and a heavy drinker', his wanted poster marked him out as someone who was 'armed and dangerous' while also having a 'history of domestic violence'.

US Marshals

Added to their most wanted list in 2021, the US Marshals said at the time that McLeod 'poses a significant threat to the public and must be brought to justice', so catching him is certainly going to be a weight off their minds.

The identity of the individual who tipped them off about his whereabouts teaching English in El Salvador is unknown, but it looks like they'll be in line to collect the $50,000 bounty for directing authorities towards the US's most wanted criminal.

One of the people who worked on the case was Josephine Wentzel, a former detective and Mitchell's mother who came back from retirement to help track down her daughter's alleged murderer.

She thanked everyone involved in tracking down and arresting McLeod.

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