DHS: Two Texas Women Should Be Alive.
Both Were Killed by the Same Illegal Immigrant — Six Years Apart.
On May 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security publicly identified Luis Fernando Benitez-Gonzalez, an undocumented Mexican national, as the suspect federal and Texas authorities now believe murdered two Texas women in attacks separated by six years. Texas DPS Forensic Sciences DNA evidence links him to both homicides. DHS has formally asked Dallas-area officials not to release him.
The first victim was Alba Jenisse Aviles, 28, of Bastrop County, killed in 2018. Bastrop County investigators found evidence she had been dragged, strangled, and assaulted — mud on her clothing and feet, bruising on her neck, chin, and lip, and blood on her face and the exterior of her vehicle. The second victim was Alyssa Ann Rivera, 34, found dead on June 21, 2024 in a vacant home on Metcalfe Road in Austin after a resident called 911 to report a body inside. Austin Police found she had been beaten and strangled.
Benitez-Gonzalez was arrested in Dallas, Texas on April 27, 2026on two felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — an unrelated case that produced the DNA sample the Texas DPS Forensic Sciences laboratory then matched to the 2018 Aviles and 2024 Rivera evidence. He now faces a first-degree murder charge and two counts of second-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is currently held in Travis County. ICE has issued a federal detainer under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) and asked Dallas authorities not to release him.
- 2Texas women killed — DNA-linked to the same suspectAlba Jenisse Aviles (28, Bastrop County, 2018) and Alyssa Ann Rivera (34, Austin, June 21, 2024). Both beaten and strangled.
- 6Years between the two homicidesDHS framing: 'should still be alive after illegal immigrant's arrest.'
- April 27Date Benitez-Gonzalez arrested in Dallas — unrelated felony assaultThe April 27, 2026 Dallas PD arrest on 2 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is what produced the DNA match.
- DPS DNATexas DPS Forensic Sciences linked both casesThe Texas DPS crime lab match is the evidentiary spine of the consolidated double-homicide case.
- ICE detainerFederal detainer issued under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)DHS / ICE has formally asked Dallas-area officials to honor the federal detainer and notify ICE before release.
- Travis Co.Where Benitez-Gonzalez is currently heldTravis County (Austin) — the jurisdiction for the 2024 Rivera case. Bastrop County may also charge separately on the 2018 Aviles case.
2018 — Alba Jenisse Aviles, 28: Bastrop County. Investigators found mud on her clothing and feet, bruising on her neck, chin, and lip, and blood on her face and the exterior of her car. The case was treated as a homicide with strangulation and assault; the suspect was not identified at the time. DNA evidence was preserved.
2024 — Alyssa Ann Rivera, 34: Austin. Austin Police responded to a 911 call on June 21, 2024 reporting a body inside a vacant home on Metcalfe Road. Rivera was found dead; the medical examiner determined she had been beaten and strangled. The Austin PD investigation again preserved physical and biological evidence; the suspect was not identified at the time.
April 27, 2026 — the Dallas arrest: Dallas Police arrested Benitez-Gonzalez on two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Under standard Texas evidence procedure, the arrest produced a DNA sample that was uploaded to the Texas DPS forensic database.
The match: Texas DPS Forensic Sciences linked the Benitez-Gonzalez DNA profile to physical evidence from both the 2018 Aviles case and the 2024 Rivera case. The linkage is the foundation of the consolidated charges now filed.
The current charges: First-degree murder and two counts of second-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — the Travis County booking. Bastrop County may file separately for the 2018 case.
“Two Texas women should still be alive today. Their killer was in this country illegally for years. The Department of Homeland Security has issued a federal detainer and asked Dallas authorities to honor it.”
DHS Asst. Secretary Tricia McLaughlin · May 13, 2026
The detainer: Form I-247. The standard ICE detainer asks state or local custodial authorities to notify ICE before releasing a non-citizen who is the subject of removal proceedings or who has been determined to be removable.
The legal authority: 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) authorizes mandatory detention of certain non-citizens charged with or convicted of qualifying offenses. The ICE detainer is the operational mechanism by which federal custody is requested from state/local authorities.
What Dallas can do: Honor the detainer (notify ICE before release; in practice, hold for up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody). Decline the detainer (release on standard state-court process, which may or may not be visible to ICE before release).
Why this case is high-stakes: A double-homicide DNA match is one of the strongest categories of federal-detainer fact patterns. DHS publicly going on the record requesting cooperation, by name, is an unusual escalation — and a signal that the federal-side concern about local-level non-cooperation is live, not theoretical.
Texas posture: Texas (Gov. Greg Abbott, R-TX) is a non-sanctuary state and Texas state law affirmatively requires local cooperation with federal immigration detainers under SB 4 (2017). Dallas County’s historic operational posture has been to honor ICE detainers when issued. The DHS public ask is a press signal as much as it is a request.
Two Texas women should still be alive. Today ICE filed a federal detainer on Luis Fernando Benitez-Gonzalez, an illegal alien from Mexico now charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. We are asking Dallas authorities to honor the detainer.
The DHS framing: “Should still be alive.” The agency’s statement — quoted across the source set — argues that the federal failure to remove Benitez-Gonzalez at any prior interaction with the immigration system is causally upstream of the two Texas homicides.
What is and isn’t in the public record so far: DHS has identified Benitez-Gonzalez as an illegal alien and as the subject of a current detainer. The detailed prior-immigration-history (entry date, prior removal proceedings, prior removal orders, any prior criminal convictions) has not yet been publicly released. We do not represent specifics that are not in the source set as established.
The Texas DPS DNA contribution: The Texas state crime lab is the agency that produced the evidentiary chain. State-level forensic science, not federal action, is what closed the consolidated case — a reminder that the immigration-enforcement question and the cold-case-solving question are not the same question.
The presumption of innocence: Benitez-Gonzalez is presumed innocent on the homicide and aggravated-assault charges until and unless a verdict is entered. The federal detainer rests on his immigration status, not on the homicide allegations.
What remains for Texas state courts: Trial on the consolidated charges. The federal detainer determines what happens at the end of the state-court process — not whether the state case proceeds or how it is decided.
Two Texas women should still be alive today. The federal government issued a detainer for the suspect. We are asking Dallas to honor it. This is what it looks like when illegal immigration is treated as a paperwork issue and not a public-safety issue.
Trump on the Texas double-homicide case and the broader federal-detainer enforcement posture.
Alba Jenisse Aviles, 28. Alyssa Ann Rivera, 34.Six years apart. The same DNA. The state lab made the match. The federal government has the detainer. DHS’s argument — on the record — is that two Texas families would not be burying daughters if the immigration-enforcement system had done its job at any point along the way.