Man arrested for murder of 28-year-old Phoenix woman in 1998

PHOENIX – Phoenix police say a man has been arrested in connection with an unsolved 1998 murder.

On July 9, 1998, 28-year-old Sarah Carr was shot and later died in her home near 14th Street and McDowell Road.

The Phoenix Police Department's Homicide Unit investigated the case and could only come up with a nickname for the suspect, and the case was ultimately closed.

In 2016, detectives used new technology to link the murder to Javier Lorenzano-Nunez, now 58.

Investigators learned that Lorenzano-Nunez spent years in California after the murder and most recently lived in Mexico.

Over the course of several years, an arrest warrant was issued for Lorenzano-Nunez, and the U.S. Department of Justice was recently able to work with law enforcement in Mexico to take Lorenzano-Nunez into custody.

“I think she's dancing in heaven right now,” Peggy Carr, Sarah's sister, told Phoenix police after the arrest.

Lorenzano-Nunez was then extradited to Phoenix and taken into Phoenix police custody on October 21, 2024.

“After 26 years, the suspect in the murder of Sarah Carr will now be held accountable and charged in connection with his actions in July 1998,” Phoenix police said in a news release. “The Phoenix Police Department Homicide Unit has once again demonstrated their incredible work ethic and core value of honoring every victim of every murder in the city, regardless of the age of the investigation.”