Police: Suspect identified in 2008 killing of Arkansas girl

A charge of first-degree murder has been filed in the 2008 killing of a 15-year-old De Queen girl, an Arkansas State Police investigator said.

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Police filed the charge against Francisco Yasin Jr., 26, in the death of Ivonne Ramirez, according to Sgt. Ray Gentry of the Arkansas State Police's criminal investigation division.

Yasin formerly lived in Sevier County but is believed to have fled to El Salvador, Gentry said.

"It's a cold case but still active," Gentry said. "A valid warrant of arrest has been issued."

The FBI and the Arkansas State Police are investigating Ramirez's death. No information has been released regarding the relationship between Yasin and Ramirez. The first-degree murder charge carries a potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison.

Ramirez's body was found Oct. 21, 2008, in the Story Landing Creek area on the northeast side of De Queen Lake. Although the state Crime Laboratory determined the teen's death to be a homicide, Gentry declined to give the woman's cause of death.

Ramirez was last seen alive about 11 p.m. Sept. 20, 2008, at her residence in De Queen. Alfredo Ramirez, her father, filed a runaway report with the Sevier County sheriff's office the next day.

State Desk on 08/03/2016

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