TikTok Video Leads to Capture of Fugitive in 2021 Florida Murder Case

Benjamin Williams, wanted for killing Joana Peca in front of her children, was arrested in Mexico after a TikTok user recognized him.

Joana Peca, 27, was fatally shot in 2021 while holding her infant son during a meeting with her ex-boyfriend, Benjamin Williams, at a St. Petersburg cemetery.
Williams fled after the murder, prompting a three-year manhunt involving U.S. Marshals and a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
A TikTok video posted by a true-crime influencer in 2021 resurfaced and led a viewer in Mexico to recognize Williams and alert authorities.
Williams, 41, was arrested in Mexico City, extradited to the United States, and is now being held without bond in Pinellas County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and child abuse.
The victim’s family expressed relief at the arrest, with Joana’s mother stating it brings some closure after years of grief and uncertainty.