Suspect in murder of Kansas woman extradited from El Salvador

JOHNSON COUNTY – A suspect in a 19-year-old murder case is currently in custody in a Kansas prison.

On September 15, 2005, police responded to a report of suspicious activity at an apartment in the 11900 block of W. 77th Terrace in Lenexa, a press release states.

When officers arrived, they found 30-year-old Maria Morfin-Rojas of Lenexa. She had been stabbed to death.

Lenexa investigators quickly identified a suspect in the case, Angel Maria Herrera of Shawnee, Kansas. Investigators discovered that Herrera had fled the United States to Mexico just days before Morfin-Rojas' body was discovered in the Lenexa apartment.

On September 17, 2005, the Johnson County District Attorney charged Herrera with first-degree murder and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On April 27, 2023, investigators were notified that Herrera had been arrested in El Salvador and was being held pending extradition to the United States.

On Wednesday, the Lenexa Police Department's lead investigator, who has been working on the case since 2005, flew to El Salvador with federal agents to take Herrera into custody and extradite him to Johnson County.

Herrera was booked into the Johnson County Adult Detention Center Thursday morning to await arraignment in Johnson County District Court for the murder of Morfin-Rojas.

The investigation, arrest and extradition of Herrera are the result of years of diligent work by Lenexa officers and detectives, the Johnson County Crime Lab, the Johnson County District Attorney's Office, the FBI and others who have tirelessly sought justice for Maria Morfin-Rojas.