06/23/2009

Associated Press

Jackson County prosecutors say the extradition process has begun for a man arrested in Mexico and sought in the 2005 freeway murder of a Southern Oregon woman.

Jose Perez Silva, 33, suspected in the fatal stabbing of Ana Bertha Meraz, 32, on Interstate 5 near Ashland, was arrested near Puerto Vallarta in Mexico on May 29 by the Mexican federal authorities.

Extradition papers have gone to the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs in Washington, D.C., said Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston.

"The extradition papers are being checked for their legality," Huddleston said. "Then they will be translated into Spanish and sent to the Mexican authorities."

Huddleston praised the effort leading to Perez Silva's arrest as an "international cooperative effort," and said there has been lengthy involvement by authorities in both countries.

Meraz called 911 about 6 a.m. May 3, 2005, requesting medical attention before an unidentified man took the phone and said he had stopped to assist Meraz after seeing her vehicle weaving in traffic.

State Police troopers and medics located Meraz lying beside her idling convertible on the freeway's southbound shoulder. She died at a local hospital, Huddleston said.

Investigators recovered Perez Silva's green 1985 Nissan Pathfinder in Central California. Police say they believe he fled to Mexico within a week of Meraz's murder.

Meraz and Perez Silva were acquainted through a local church, said Jackson County sheriff's Sgt. Colin Fagan.

A Jackson County grand jury indicted Perez Silva in November 2005 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

It is unclear when Perez Silva will be returned to Jackson County, said Huddleston, adding it will depend on whether he wants to fight the extradition process.

Most extraditions between the countries are routine, but they can be complicated by Mexico's policy of not extraditing prisoners who may face the death penalty.