Fugitive Bridegroom Charged In Murder Of Burbank Bride Extradited To U.S.: FBI

CHICAGO—A man accused of killing his bride the day after they got married has been extradited from Mexico back to the United States, according to news reports.

Arnoldo Jimenez, 44, who spent 12 years on the lam and was one of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted, arrived back in Chicago this week after he was apprehended in Monterrey, Mexico, last year.

On May 13, 2012, Burbank police found Estrella Carrera dead in her condo less than 48 hours after getting married. According to police reports, the couple got married on the spur of the moment at Chicago City Hall a few days before her body was found. After the quickie ceremony, the newlyweds dined at a Chicago restaurant with a small group of family and friends before boarding a party limo for a club. The couple was last seen in the early morning hours of May 12, 2012.

Her family members became concerned when Carrera, a devoted mother, did not come by to pick up her two young children and called Burbank police. She was found dead in the bathtub during a well-being check still wearing the silver sequined dress she got married in. Jimenez, the father of their youngest child, was nowhere to be found.

The Cook County Medical Examiner attributed Estrella’s death to multiple stab wounds and ruled her death a homicide.

Burbank police believed Jimenez stabbed Carrera in his black, four-door 2006 Maserati and then took the body back to Carrera’s condo.

Jimenez reportedly fled the United States for Mexico immediately after police said he murdered his bride. During his run for the border, federal authorities said Jimenez contacted his sister, telling her that he had a “bad fight” with Carrera and left her bleeding. Jimenez is also said to have had another conversation with a “close associate” stating that he was leaving Illinois and to tell law enforcement he was going to Mexico. Authorities said Jimenez' parents live in Mexico.

Jimenez was charged with first-degree murder by the Circuit Court of Cook County, and a state warrant was issued for his arrest on May 15, 2012. A federal arrest warrant was also issued by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, on May 17, 2012, after Jimenez was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

He was the 522nd fugitive to be added to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List in 2019. During Jimenez’s 12 years on the run, the FBI continued to receive tips as to his whereabouts, who was believed to be in Durango, Mexico, specifically in the area of Santiago Papasquiaro. He was also known to frequent Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the FBI said.

Jimenez’s flight from the law was featured in an episode of “In Pursuit With John Walsh” on the Discovery Channel.

FBI Chicago, FBI San Antonio, the FBI's Legal Attaché in Mexico City, and the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois collaborated to locate Jimenez.

Jimenez was arrested without incident in Monterrey, Mexico, in January 2025 by agents of the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR) and Interpol. At the time, FBI agents told Patch that it could take more than a year to bring him back to the United States.

The FBI credited the Burbank Police Department in the tracking and capture of the fugitive bridegroom.

“Jimenez was wanted in connection with the murder of Estrella Carrera who was found deceased less than 48 hours after their wedding," the FBI said in a news release Thursday. "No matter how much time has passed or where a criminal may be in the world, the FBI will never stop in our pursuit of justice.”

As to what happens next for Jimenez is unknown at this time.