An Alexandria, Va., man wanted for allegedly killing his ex and their 3-year-old daughter was located and arrested Thursday night in New York City.
It brings an end to a nearly two-week manhunt for Simon Bahta Asfeha, 34, whom authorities had described as "a monster" to the Washington Examiner.
Alexandria police believe Asfeha used a knife to kill 27-year-old Seble Tessema, the mother of his 3-year-old daughter. The child was also found murdered with her mother inside an apartment on South Reynolds Street on April 11. Investigators determined it was a double murder, and U.S. marshals joined the search for the killer.
Asfeha apparently fled the state and ended up in New York City, where someone called in a tip to police there on Asfeha's whereabouts. Thursday night, Alexandria police coordinated with NYPD and U.S. marshals, who staked out the spot where the suspect was believed to be staying. They ended up arresting Asfeha without incident.
"Everybody's excited to have him in custody," said Jody Donaldson, of the Alexandria Police Department. "This was a horrific crime. He's been on the loose for a couple of weeks now. The [Alexandria police] chief was so grateful for all the work that went into this, with the Marshals Service and NYPD working with our department to make this arrest."
Asfeha will go through New York's court system before he ends up back in Alexandria. If he waives his extradition rights, he'll be back in the commonwealth sooner, authorities said Friday.
