The family of a murdered teenager has waited almost 30 years to bring her killer to justice.
On Monday, the man charged with killing 14-year-old Christina Pina was extradited from Mexico to California.
Her body was found in a Castroville artichoke field in 1990.
Her father told CNN affiliate KION that DNA evidence helped link Arsenio Leyva with her murder, but it was more than a decade after a federal judge signed a warrant, before Leyva was actually be charged with the murder.
“This investigation to date exceeds 2,000 pages in volume and is one of the most labor-intensive investigations at the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office,” Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal said. “The apprehension of Arsenio Pacheco Leyva was a result of the combined efforts involving thousands of hours of work by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Salinas Police Department, FBI, Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, and the Mexican government.”
Leyva made his first court appearance in Salinas on charges of murder, attempted kidnapping, rape, and assault.