Peruvian police have located a fugitive dubbed "The Black Widow" who evaded authorities for six years. In 2008, Nazira Maria Cross, 48, was suspected of poisoning of her ex-husband Michael Cross, 55, then burying him on his ranch outside Lovelock.
Michael Cross owned various properties in Pershing County and Lovelock including the Lovelock Motors car dealership along with another car dealership in Reno and residential property in Chilcoot, Calif.
U.S. authorities are awaiting the extradition by Peru of Nazira Cross, also known as Nazira Ugalde, after her arrest last Thursday. She will face charges of first-degree murder, fleeing the country to avoid prosecution and faking her own death to collect life insurance payments. Her date of return to the U.S. is unknown but court proceedings will likely take place in Plumas County, Calif., where the alleged murder of Cross was initiated according to the FBI.
In 2008, Nazira Cross told Reno police her husband had died suddenly and that she had subsequently buried him on his ranch near Lovelock. The story sounded suspicious to officers who extended the investigation to Pershing County. After local sheriff's deputies obtained a warrant to search the 40-acre property on Pitt Road, the body was discovered in a shallow grave.
According to Pershing County Undersheriff Tom Bjerke, multiple tire tracks in one area of the property were a clue for deputies who soon discovered the body. It appeared that a vehicle had been driven a number of times across the grave, he said.
"There was no reason to drive back and forth so we dug there first," Bjerke said.
A news report stated numerous nicotine patches were found on the body by investigators - another indication of possible foul play since a nicotine overdose can be fatal. The investigation revealed, however, that Cross may have been poisoned earlier at his home in Chilcoot, Calif., before his body was buried outside Lovelock.
After the body was discovered and Nazira Cross was interviewed by police, an autopsy was initiated. While toxicology results were still pending, the woman managed to flee the country and become a federal fugitive. She was added to the FBI's most wanted list.
The case was featured more than once on the crime show "America's Most Wanted." The murder suspect, a native of Costa Rica, was located last week at her home in Peru after crime information was re-broadcast in the international media, according to the FBI.
Bjerke said Michael Cross was a recent arrival to Pershing County but was liked by residents. He became involved with the car racing community and sometimes was seen eating lunch with his wife at the county senior center. Bjerke said Cross was longing for a quiet, rural life while his wife still seemed to prefer urban living.
Bjerke credited the California neighbor who first alerted police and Reno officers for sensing inconsistencies in Nazira's story of her ex-husband's sudden death and burial. The woman told investigators her husband wanted to be laid to rest in Pershing County.
"Someone noticed he wasn't doing too good as his wife was putting him in a car and said she was taking him to a hospital," Bjerke explained. "The neighbor waits a little bit, calls the local hospitals and discovered he hasn't been checked into a hospital."
At the request of the neighbors, a welfare check was conducted by police at the couple's property in Reno and officers became suspicious after hearing conflicting stories. Nazira Cross then admitted her husband had died and was buried on his property in Lovelock.
"There was something said that didn't quite make sense so the officers went back and got another story then started to be concerned," Bjerke said. "The RPD called (Pershing County) and asked us to take a look around out there without going onto the property."
After a search warrant was secured, the body of Cross was unearthed on Aug. 1, 2008 by Pershing County deputies with the assistance of Reno police detectives, Plumas County detectives and the Washoe County crime lab. Plumas County later took the lead in the four-agency investigation since the crime seemed to originate in that jurisdiction.
"It was a crime that culminated in our county but the question became who's going to make the arrest," Bjerke said. "Plumas County officials said, in all likelihood, Cross died in their county or the crime was started in that county so they took the lead. At first, it was a four-agency effort but it was up to us to get the search warrant."
Nazira Cross could have been charged with the misdemeanor of tampering with a dead body but investigators suspected foul play was involved in the death of Michael Cross.
"There was something more to it than 'I don't know why he died but he wanted to be buried in Lovelock'," Bjerke said. "It was good police work on the part of the RPD."
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