Katharina Buczek
The San Diego District Attorney’s Office eventually charged Raymond with murder and put a warrant out for his arrest.
In the meantime, Josephine created a website detailing her mission, worked with local authorities, and pulled on her wealth of knowledge and investigative skills from her career to locate Raymond.
Josephine was even able to achieve her goal of landing him on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted list in 2021 with a record-breaking reward offering.
At that time, Raymond was the first ever fugitive to ever debut on the list with an initial reward of up to fifty thousand dollars. He was also believed to have fled to Central America or Mexico following the murder of Krystal.
“We want McLeod’s new status as a 15 Most Wanted fugitive and the $50,000 reward amount to be broadcasted far and wide. McLeod poses a significant threat to the public and must be brought to justice,” said Donald Washington, the U.S. Marshal Service Director.
And thankfully, through Josephine’s tireless work to get Raymond on the list and share her daughter’s story far and wide, Raymond was finally captured on Monday, August 29, in El Salvador.
Joseph O’Callagan, chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service, received the tip that broke the case wide open. The tipster claimed that someone resembling Raymond had been teaching English at a school located in Sonsonate.
After looking into the school’s records, investigators determined that Raymond had been teaching under the name of Jack Donovan and had spent up to the last three years in El Salvador.
Following the arrest, Raymond has since been ordered to remain in custody without bail and will be facing twenty-five years to life if convicted.
And now that the search for Raymond is finally over, authorities have applauded Josephine for being an “instrumental” force in his capture.
“The victim’s mother, Josephine Funes Wentzel, is a former police detective who has been instrumental in helping authorities search for McLeod. Wentzel has generated leads for law enforcement and helped spread the word about the international manhunt on social media,” said San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan.
