After a woman was stabbed to death, police launched a search for the man suspected of killing her. However, the investigation took a surprising turn when the victim’s son hunted him down himself.
In a dramatic series of events, Raul Cuevas was arrested for taking revenge on his mother’s alleged killer after the police were having trouble tracking down the suspect. Idaho detectives were left with double the bodies on their hands and even more questions than before.
The case culminated after a woman was brutally murdered. Nampa police responded to a call concerning the stabbing of an adult female in the 2100 block of West Grouse Street, Law & Crime reports. The victim was identified as 52-year-old Michelle E. Luna. When police arrived, they found Luna inside the home with “several stab wounds to her body.” First responders performed life-saving efforts but were unsuccessful. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators quickly identified the prime suspect as 39-year-old Jesus R. Urrutia, who “was known” to the victim. Authorities immediately launched a search for the suspect, but Urrutia had already fled.
Disturbingly, Urrutia has a sordid criminal history. In 2015, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for kidnapping. Charges of second-degree murder, sexual battery of a minor, aggravated battery and injury to a child, and deadly weapon enhancement were all dropped in exchange for his guilty plea. He was also registered as a sex offender.
“Urrutia’s night of violence began when he tried to sexually assault the 17-year-old daughter of a woman he was dating. When the girl’s mother entered the room, she tried to protect her daughter, which led to Urrutia punching her in the mouth and attempting to snap her neck,” Prosecutor Erica Kallin said. “He went to the home of another woman — one he hadn’t seen in five years — and tried to sexually assault her while holding a pocket knife to her threat.”
The morning after Luna’s death, Nampa Police Department received a call from a dispatcher at the Ada County Sheriff’s Office concerning another stabbing victim. Officers arrived at Avimor gas station more than 25 miles outside the city. They discovered Urrutia “slumped over in the car, which was running but in park.” Medics performed CPR on Urrutia before he was rushed to a local hospital, but he died from his wounds.
“Deputies are investigating what appears to be a fatal stabbing in a parked car near the entrance to the Avimor subdivision in north Ada County. They have a suspect in custody. The case is still under active investigation — and there is no perceived threat to the public,” the Ada County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
The coroner’s office ruled that Urrutia’s death was due to being stabbed in the chest. After collecting evidence from Urrutia’s car, detectives arrested Luna’s son, 31-year-old Raul Alexander Cuevas. He was subsequently taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder for the death of Urrutia.
Investigators stated that Michelle E. Luna, Jesus R. Urrutia, and Raul Cuevas all lived within the Nampa area and knew one another. They confirmed that Urrutia was the prime suspect in Luna’s death. However, detectives said they are “still figuring out why Cuevas fatally stabbed Urrutia.”
Police stated that they believed Urrutia’s murder was a revenge killing. Of course, with Urrutia’s extensive criminal history, the public was understandably sympathetic to Cuevas.
