Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Illinois man added to top 10 fugitives list

  • Fidel Urbina is wanted in connection with a brutal murder more than 10 years ago
  • He was free on bond on an kidnapping and rape charge when the murder took place
  • The FBI says he has connections in Durango, Mexico, and in Chicago

Washington (CNN) -- The FBI has added an alleged murderer and rapist to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Fidel Urbina, a 37-year-old former Chicago resident was named to the roster Tuesday.

Urbina was arrested in March of 1998 by the Chicago Police Department and charged with kidnapping, raping and brutally beating a woman.

Urbina was free on bond and awaiting trial when he allegedly assaulted and bludgeoned to death 22-year Gabriella Torres. According to the FBI, Torres' body was found in the trunk of car that had been set on fire.

Urbina, a Mexican national who was working in Chicago as a car mechanic, was charged with that crime as well, but authorities believe he had fled the state of Illinois.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for Urbina in July 1999. In August 2006 a provisional arrest warrant also was issued in Mexico in case Urbina had returned to the land of his birth.

"Fidel Urbina is wanted for his alleged role in two brutal attacks directed against innocent women," said Robert Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Chicago Field Office. "These crimes have demonstrated his violent nature and the need to locate and apprehend Urbina before he can strike again."

FBI officials hope renewed publicity about the fugitive will help, and is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Urbina's arrest. Officials warn he should be considered armed and dangerous.

The FBI describes Urbina as a Hispanic man who is around 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 170 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and a severely pockmarked right cheek.

According to the FBI, Urbina has used alias names in the past including Lorenzo Maes, Fernando Ramos and Fidel Urbina Aguirre. The FBI says he could be residing in Durango, Mexico, but he also has ties to the Chicago area.

Urbina is the 497th person to be named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since it was begun in 1950. He takes the spot briefly filled by Adam Christopher Mayes, who was wanted for the murder of a Tennessee woman and her daughter in late April and the kidnapping of the woman's two other children. Authorities say Mayes fatally shot himself as law enforcement officers were closing in on him.