Cops hunt for Mexican man, 36, who 'killed his 22-year-old former girlfriend in Chile' while on the run after 'murdering his 17-year-old former ex in his home country in 2009'
A killer on the run for murdering his 17-year-old former girlfriend in Mexico in 2009 is now wanted in Chile for allegedly murdering his latest ex.
MarÃa Pavez, 22, was last seen December 17 when she left her home in the Santiago commune of La Florida to meet her old flame who called himself Igor González. His real identity was later revealed to be 36-year-old Carlos Méndez - wanted killer on the run from police and Interpol.
The couple had reportedly dated for two years before breaking it off in October.
Six days after Pavez, an obstetrics student at the Diego Portales University, Chile, went to meet her ex, she was found dead. Her body was discovered with a six-inch stab wound, in the bedroom of Méndez's abandoned Chile apartment.
As the victim's family mourned their daughter, they were contacted on social media by family of his first victim, who revealed the real identity of Pavez's ex and suspected killer; Méndez.
Méndez fled Mexico after hacking his former girlfriend, 17-year-old Itzel Barraza, to death with an ice pick on April 9, 2019 in the central state of Aguascalientes.
MarÃa Pavez was last seen December 17 after she left her home to meet her ex-boyfriend Igor González, whose real name is Carlos Méndez - a wanted killer on the run
Itzel Barraza was killed April 9, 2009 in Mexico by Carlos Méndez, her ex-boyfriend, before he fled to Chile, where he is now wanted for the murder of MarÃa Pavez
'As soon as I saw the first photos, I immediately said it's him,' Barraza family told Mexican newspaper El Imparcial. 'We were tying the dots in terms of appearance, height, gaze, eyes, type of nose, type of mouth, mole on the chin. When I contacted to the family of this girl in Chile and I showed photos they said it is the same."
Pavez's family swiftly passed on that information to the police.
Authorities said Méndez illegally entered Chile seven years ago.
Brenda Pavez told DailyMail.com her half-sister met Méndez several years ago at an anime event in the Santiago commune of Peñalolen. The former couple dated two years before ending their relationship in October.
'Nothing was ever suspected since we did not know him,' Pavez said. 'Only MarÃa's mother saw him once and no one else knew him. He did not let himself be seen.'
Friends of MarÃa Pavez who knew Méndez describe his as 'antisocial, a fan of anime, computers and Japanese manga.'
The suspect, who is overweight, has a mole under his lip and has a tattoo of a black cross on his left forearm. He also suffers from cataract in one eye, which he tries to conceal from the public by allowing his hair to fall right over the eye.
Carlos Méndez also went by the name of Igor González. He is wanted in Mexico for killing 17-year-old, Itzel Barraza in 2009
MarÃa Pavez contacted her mother on December 17 and received a deposit to purchase a new cellphone because her other phone had technical difficulties. But calls in the following day went unanswered, which led the family to filing a missing person's report before the 22-year-old college student was found dead in her ex-boyfriend's apartment
Just days after it was revealed that Méndez, or 'El Meji', short for 'The Mexican,' was a person of interest to the authorities, an alleged friend went on Instagram and vowed to offer him a place to stay if he came asking because he care less about what had happened to Pavez.
'I'm a friend of Meji ... I don't care. If were to ask me for refuge, because they are chasing him, I would say ‘I take care of you,' the man said. 'It is not what is happening, but I would do it anyway.'
Brenda Pavez was shocked by the man's willingness to aid her sister's alleged killer.
'I think there's people with some kind of mental problem, who lack empathy and compassion,' she said.
Pavez said the family believes someone aided Méndez's escape from Chile the same way he was assisted in fleeing Mexico in 2009.
'We have absolute certainty that someone helps the murderer escape just as they helped him escape when he murdered Itzel in Mexico, but we do not know who helps him,' she said.
Pavez's mother Lorena Zamora told Chilean news outlet BioBio Chile that she had spoken to her daughter approximately at 11pm local time December 17 and deposited money into her account after she complained of technical difficulties with her cellphone.
She reportedly purchased a new one but calls went unanswered following their last conversation.
Berraza's parents reached out to MarÃa Pavez and her family Sunday.
'We shared information and now I can confirm it is the same person, the same person who killed their daughter,' Brenda Pavez said.