The Department of Homeland Security has publicly urged Dallas officials not to release Luis Fernando Benitez-Gonzalez, a Mexican national accused of murdering two women in Central Texas in crimes that spanned six years.

Benitez-Gonzalez was arrested on April 27 by U.S. Marshals and Texas police. ICE has lodged a detainer requesting local authorities notify the agency before any release and hold him long enough for federal agents to take custody.

DNA evidence links Benitez-Gonzalez to two separate murder scenes. The victims, 28-year-old Alba Jenisse Aviles-Marti and 34-year-old Alyssa Ann Rivera, were killed years apart. Police believe there could be additional victims.

DHS confirmed the detainer and stated that Benitez-Gonzalez is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as well as dangerous drugs possession.

Aviles-Marti was murdered in April 2018. More than six years later, Rivera was found dead in an abandoned Austin house in June 2024. DNA evidence connected the two crime scenes before investigators identified Benitez-Gonzalez.

Austin Police Detective Chris Anderson stated that investigators believe there is a strong likelihood Benitez-Gonzalez is responsible for further acts of extreme violence. Authorities confirmed he had been voluntarily deported from the United States in 2020.

Court documents indicate Aviles-Marti was killed on April 14, 2018, after being last seen alive at Club Caribe in Austin. She exhibited signs of severe assault, including mud on her clothing, bruising on her neck, chin, and lip, blood on her face and car, and an earring found away from the vehicle.

Rivera was discovered dead on June 21, 2024, in an abandoned house in Austin with an extension cord around her neck, a bloody rock, bloody handprints, and evidence of being dragged inside and assaulted. Police confirmed DNA from both scenes linked to the same suspect before identifying Benitez-Gonzalez.

Authorities indicated that Benitez-Gonzalez may have crossed paths with potential victims in multiple states, including Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Hidalgo County. The gap between the 2018 and 2024 murders has raised concerns about a pattern of violence that could extend beyond current charges.

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis emphasized that Aviles-Marti and Rivera should still be alive, noting that if Benitez-Gonzalez had been permanently removed after his voluntary deportation in 2020, the second murder would not have occurred.

ICE’s detainer mechanism requires local authorities to notify federal agents before releasing a removable alien and to hold them long enough for custody transfer.