Authorities in Chiapas, Mexico, arrested Joseph Jude Butler Jr., identified as allegedly responsible for the femicide of Makala Marie Pendley, a 30-year-old American citizen whose body was located on June 8 in that Mexican entity.

During an operation carried out in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, the victim's seven children, who had been missing since February of this year, were also rescued alive.

The State Attorney General's Office confirmed that the woman found dead was identified as Makala Marie Pendley, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. His body was found with signs of violence and was later recognized with the support of the United States Embassy and the victim's relatives.

Makala fled Indianapolis because she was violated by her partner, who even kidnapped her seven children in August of last year, but recovered them in Mérida, Yucatán, that same month.

The mother and her children, between 1 and 12 years old, disappeared again on February 23, so the US authorities issued a new search document.

According to the investigations, Joseph, Makala's romantic partner, was captured after a search of a property and the children were found in good health, remaining under the protection of the authorities while their delivery to relatives is coordinated.

The state prosecutor, Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca, reported that the autopsy determined that the victim's cause of death was head trauma resulting from injuries caused by a short-blunt object.

In addition, he noted that the alleged perpetrator has a criminal record in the United States for various crimes, including assault, fraud, illegal possession of weapons and rape, as well as an active arrest warrant in Alaska.

The case has generated attention both in Mexico and in the United States due to the international disappearance of the mother and her children, as well as the circumstances in which the victim's body was found in Chiapas territory. The investigation continues by the Special Prosecutor's Office for Femicide Crimes.