Cops: NJ Murder Suspect Who Set Body on Fire Caught in Texas

FILE of sirens on a San Diego County Sheriff's Department vehicle.
NBC 7

A New Jersey man accused of killing another man and setting his body on fire on Christmas Eve last year has been captured in Texas, authorities announced Tuesday.

Oscar Rodriguez, 24, of Plainfield, was charged in February with murder and desecration of human remains in the death of David Chacon, 42, of Plainfield, whose body was identified by using DNA evidence.

Rodriguez was identified as a suspect shortly after the body was found, according to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, and he was recently arrested in a town near the Mexican border and extradited to New Jersey. Further details on the arrest and how authorities located him were not disclosed.

Rodriguez made his initial court appearance Monday, where a judge ruled that he will be detained until his trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

A motive for the slaying has not been disclosed.

It wasn’t known Tuesday if Rodriguez has retained an attorney.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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