Suspect arrested in death of woman whose body was found near Jean
More than a year after a new mother’s remains were found in a desert area near the Seven Magic Mountains art installation, Las Vegas police have arrested a man charged with murder in her death.
Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer on Saturday confirmed that Carlos Figueroa, 38, who was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Friday, was arrested in connection with the death of 29-year-old Natelie Carbajal.
Carbajal’s burnt body was found July 4, 2019, about a mile east of the art installation, which is 25 miles south of Las Vegas, police have said. The Clark County coroner’s office determined she died from a gunshot wound to the head, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Court records show that an arrest warrant was granted for Figueroa on July 30, 2019. Further information about his recent arrest was not immediately available.
Yesterday the FBI led Criminal Apprehension Team (CAT) arrested Carlos Figueroa on a warrant charging him in connection with a murder that occurred in Las Vegas in July 2019. Figueroa was arrested after a barricade and hostage situation, which required SWAT intervention. pic.twitter.com/CL8T7hWDvS
— FBI Las Vegas (@FBILasVegas) September 19, 2020
He faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon and remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Saturday without bail, jail records show. Figueroa was scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning.
Shortly after her death, Carbajal’s aunt, Dee Yera, told the Review-Journal that the 29-year-old dreamed of being a mother. She gave birth to a girl only a few months before she was killed.
When Carbajal was killed, her mother, 48-year-old Alicia “Curly” Carbajal, was suffering from terminal cancer, Yera said. She died early July 13, 2019, shortly after hearing news of her daughter’s death.
Natelie Carbajal was described as a kind, “happy camper,” who had a contagious laugh, Yera said. Above all, she loved her daughter.
“The baby was pretty much her everything,” Yera said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
