A 19-year-old man was arrested in the killing of a woman found stabbed near a trail in the Great Falls area early Monday, police said.
Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos was arrested in connection with the homicide, Fairfax County police said in an update Wednesday morning.
Carmen Lizet Puch, of Reston, was the mother of a young daughter. She was 42.
Cedillos-Campos was a coworker of hers at Bitez restaurant in Herndon, sources told News4.
Police said they’ll provide additional information later Wednesday.
A jogger called police after finding Puch lying next to her car in a small gravel parking lot near the trail about 6:45 a.m. Monday, Fairfax County police said.
Video from Chopper4 showed orange crime scene markers on and near Puch’s burgundy Honda Civic.
Investigators later towed her Honda Civic from the area. Sources familiar with the investigation said she was stabbed inside the vehicle.
It is not clear why Puch drove to the park or when. The parking lot has no security cameras.
“There’s no immediate indication that this was a random act. We’re just asking the community if they saw something around 7 o’clock to please reach out to us,” Capt. Jason Chandler said Monday.
Police asked for anyone with information to call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online.
People who knew her Puch said she was soft-spoken and worked hard to support her young daughter.
Abdul Anwari, owner of the restaurant Bitez in the Village Center at Dulles said he and Puch’s coworkers were shocked to learn of her killing.
“I don’t know if you can process something like this. It’s not something you expect. It’s not something that anyone would ever want to happen,” he told News4. “But you know, we’re still taking it minute at a time.”
For Anwari and those who knew Puch, it’s a mystery shrouded in grief. But their goal is to help the little daughter she leaves behind.
“We have a GoFundMe account set up, but we’re actually doing, we are personally donating to the family as well,” Anwari said. “But anyone in the community that can help, obviously, this is going to go directly to the family, and as far as I’m concerned, it should go to the daughter and make sure that she’s OK.”
Friends said Puch’s family is from New Jersey and they quickly drove down after learning of the tragedy to take care of their granddaughter.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
