Suspect in killing of Compton teen is arrested in Mexico, authorities say

Mexican police on Friday arrested a man sought in connection with the slaying of his ex-girlfriend in Compton, authorities said.

Police in Rosarito received a tip from the public that the suspect, Victor Sosa, was working at Papas and Beer, a popular bar and nightclub in the coastal city about 15 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border, said Det. Ray Lugo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Detectives had been seeking Sosa, 25, on suspicion of stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend, Daisy De La O. Investigators believed that Sosa had gone to Mexico after the 19-year-old’s body was discovered in February behind the apartment complex on Long Beach Boulevard where she lived with her family.

At 10:30 a.m. Friday, Rosarito police went to the bar and questioned Sosa, who had been working there under a different name, Lugo said. He initially denied being the man sought by Los Angeles authorities but eventually acknowledged it was him, the detective said.

Rosarito police took Sosa into custody and handed him over to the FBI at the U.S.-Mexico border. Sheriff’s detectives were taking him back to Los Angeles County on Friday night, Lugo said. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

The tipster who alerted Rosarito authorities had spotted Sosa’s picture on social media, Lugo said. He credited the public with helping find Sosa, saying the Sheriff’s Department had fielded hundreds of calls since announcing on Tuesday that authorities were searching for him in connection with De La O’s killing.

Investigators believe that Sosa visited his ex-girlfriend the night of Feb. 22, then stabbed her to death behind her apartment building, Lugo said. The complex’s property manager found her body the following morning.

De La O’s mother, Susana Salas, said her daughter’s four-year relationship with Sosa had grown strained to the point that he once hit her in the head with a skateboard. She broke off the relationship but continued seeing Sosa off and on, Salas said.

Salas said Friday night she was grateful and relieved that Sosa was in custody.

“Whatever happens next, I’m glad that he is here and they are keeping an eye on him,” she said.