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Phoenix Police Arrest Suspect in 2014 Home-Invasion Killing After DNA Match

A cold-case review tied Fernando Gaitan to the scene through Phoenix police crime lab analysis.

Overview

  • Police say 53-year-old Fernando Gaitan was arrested Wednesday and booked into jail in connection with the 2014 homicide.
  • Prosecutors indicated he faces first-degree murder, burglary, kidnapping, aggravated assault charges.
  • Investigators report Gaitan was part of a group that broke into a home near 41st and Maryland avenues on July 31, 2014.
  • Authorities say the intruders confronted Augustine Valenzuela, who was beaten and stabbed as his family was held at gunpoint; he later died at a hospital.
  • Detectives credit DNA evidence developed years after the crime for the breakthrough, with police not yet disclosing where Gaitan was found or the status of two other suspects.