EXCLUSIVE: Colombian student, 21, is brought back to Sydney to face murder charges over brutal death of well-known Coogee sex worker, 69, after being stuck in a Caribbean jail for nine months because of COVID-19
Hector Enrique Valencia , 21, was arrested in Aruba in February over the death of Sydney sex worker Kimberley McRae
A Colombian student arrested overseas over the death of a sex worker has been returned to Sydney and will today be charged with her murder.
Hector Enrique Valencia, 21, was nabbed by local authorities on the Caribbean island of Aruba in February over the death of Coogee identity Kimberley McRae.
The 69-year-old transgender woman's body was found inside her apartment on Mount Street, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on January 14.
Police alleged that in the days after her death Valencia fled Australia, and after a two-month long manhunt tracked him down in Aruba where local authorities arrested him.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international travel, Valencia's extradition to Australia was delayed.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that after nine months in custody Strike Force Onshore detectives went to Aruba to collect Valencia and returned him under guard on a flight to Sydney in the early hours of Tuesday.
It is understood he is currently inside Surry Hills Police Station where he is expected to be charged on an outstanding warrant for murder.
Valencia is expected to face a Sydney court via video link later today.
Police believe Ms McRae's body had been lying inside her apartment for several days before she was found
Pictured is the unit block on Mount Street, Coogee, where Ms McRae lived and where her body was found
Valencia moved to Sydney on a student visa in mid-2019, attending an English school during the second half of last year and then a business college in the first few weeks of this year.
Students at the Surry Hills college told Daily Mail Australia in the wake of his arrest that the 'baby-faced' man only showed up for two days then suddenly disappeared.
'He had such a young, baby face and was very quiet,' a former classmate said.
'He wasn't here very long. I think he came to two classes and then disappeared, that was back in early January and we never saw him again.'
A photo showing Valencia sitting in class was posted to Facebook on January 7 - the exact day police say Ms McRae was last seen alive.
NSW Police allege Valencia flew back to South America the day after Ms McRae died.
He first returned to his homeland of Colombia, before going to visit a relative on the Caribbean island of Aruba.
Police believe Valencia met Ms McRae for the purpose of sex, but it is not known if he was a first time customer the day she died, or if they had met before
Completely unaware police were on his tail, he continued to post photos to social media of himself in the Caribbean in February – less than a fortnight before his arrest.
Homicide detectives then liaised with the Commonwealth Attorney General's office who coordinated the operation with Aruban authorities.
Valencia was understood to be living near Matraville, in Sydney's south-east.
Police believe he met Ms McRae for the purpose of sex, but it is not known if he was a first time customer the day she died, or if they had met before.