Authorities in Chiapas have arrested a U.S. citizen as the alleged perpetrator of the femicide of his wife, Makala Marie Pendley, 30, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her body was found on Monday with signs of violence at the entrance to the Tsotsil municipality of Zinacantán, in the Highlands region of Chiapas.
The state prosecutor, Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca, reported that Joseph “N”, the victim’s partner and the main suspect in the crime, was captured and placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The ministerial and forensic investigations determined that the woman died from a traumatic brain injury caused by blows with a blunt object.
Llaven Abarca indicated that, in coordination with U.S. authorities, it was confirmed that the detainee has a criminal record and an outstanding arrest warrant in Alaska. Among the crimes attributed to him in the United States are assault, robbery, fraud, illegal possession of firearms, intimidation, sexual assault, and other offenses.
Furthermore, both Joseph “N” and the victim were listed on an alert issued last February by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), related to the location of seven minors from Indianapolis.
As part of the investigation, state authorities carried out a search in the Fatima neighborhood of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, where they located the seven children, who were taken into protective custody and are under official protection while arrangements are made with the U.S. Embassy for their family reunification.
The NCMEC had issued a missing persons report for the children, whose ages range from 1 to 12 years old, on February 23, 2026.
The prosecutor stated that he will seek the maximum penalty provided by state law for the alleged perpetrator of the femicide.
The case has generated attention in both Mexico and the United States due to the family’s history of international searches and the location of the seven children in Chiapas territory.
Source: proceso
