PHOENIX, AZ — UPDATE: On November 21, 2025, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced Sergio Reyes was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of 15-year-old Elena Lasswell Reyes.
In 2013, Phoenix police detectives used familial DNA to link Sergio Reyes to the crime. He was extradited from Mexico to Maricopa County.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
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A 37-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in connection to the "brutal killing" of 15-year-old Elena Lasswell in 2004.
Officials say on July 10, 2004, police were called to a home in the area of 23rd Avenue and Thomas Road. There, they found Lasswell. Crews attempted lifesaving measures, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The case went cold until 2012 when DNA techniques were used and were able to identify Sergio Reyes as a suspect.
Reyes was indicted by a Maricopa Grand Jury in 2014. Reyes was living in Mexico at the time.
Police say that Reyes was located with "extensive help" from the U.S. Marshals Service.
37-year-old Reyes was arrested and booked 20 years after the killing for charges including sexual assault and first-degree murder.
