Suspect in murder case arrested

Deepa Bharath

Police in Mexico City have arrested a 19-year-old man wanted by local

officials in connection with the murder of a Costa Mesa girl who was

found dead in Fairview Park two years ago, officials said on Tuesday.

Victor Garcia was 17 when he fled from his Costa Mesa home after

he learned police were looking for him, officials said. Police not

only issued a no-bail warrant for his arrest days after the incident,

which took place the night of Sept. 21, 2001, but also announced a

$5,000 reward for information leading to Garcia’s arrest and

conviction.

After being featured twice on Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted,” one

as recently on Sept. 27 -- a week after the second anniversary of

16-year-old Ceceline Godsoe’s death -- Garcia was finally busted in

Mexico City after he was arrested on Thursday on a domestic violence

charge, said Costa Mesa Police Det. Sgt. Jack Archer.

Garcia’s outstanding warrant for unlawful flight to avoid

prosecution was issued by the FBI at Costa Mesa police’s request, he

said.

“We applied for the federal warrant because we had information

that he was possibly out of the country and in Mexico,” Archer said.

That warrant was entered into the Mexican records system and

showed up when Garcia got arrested for the unrelated incident, he

said.

“It just happened by coincidence,” Archer said. “But it’s only a

matter of time. You can’t run forever. Sooner or later, justice

catches up with you.”

Officials started Garcia’s extradition process last week, but it’s

hard to tell how long it will take, he said.

“It could be quick or lengthy,” Archer said. “When you’re dealing

with another country it’s a whole different ballgame.”

There are still several unanswered questions about the incident,

said Ceceline’s mother, Martha Godsoe, who lives in Florida.

“I’m happy he’s been arrested,” she said. “But I don’t feel the

excitement or elation I thought I’d feel because there is a lot I

don’t know, and there is a lot that remains to be done, like the

extradition and the trial.”

Godsoe said she doesn’t know why anyone would bludgeon her child

and leave her to die alone in the dark.

Archer declined to talk about the details of the investigation.

But he said Garcia had celebrated the birth of his child on the

morning of Sept. 21, 2001. Later that afternoon, as his wife was

recovering in the hospital, Garcia went partying with some friends.

They then went to Fairview Park where Garcia and his two male friends

met 15-year-old Ceceline Godsoe and a 19-year-old male friend,

officials said.

The group of teenagers began socializing and after a while

Ceceline went off with Garcia. She never returned. A couple of hours

later, Ceceline’s friend went looking for her and found her

bludgeoned to death and lying fully clothed on a brush-covered trail.

Officials said she was beaten so badly that she drowned in her own

blood.

Police had surveillance tape of Garcia buying beer that evening in

a convenience store. They also had video of Garcia holding his

newborn daughter that morning in the hospital. Both tapes were played

in the episode of “America’s Most Wanted.”

It’s been a hard two years for Ceceline’s mother. Godsoe said he

has been getting counseling and continues to take anti-depressant

medication.

“The feeling of losing a child is not something I can describe,”

she said. “It’s something you don’t want anyone to go through and

it’s something you can’t understand till you actually go through it.

The truth is, nothing will ever bring my daughter back.”

Garcia was the most recent Costa Mesa murder suspect who had fled

to Mexico, Archer said. Police are still looking for two other men in

connection with two separate stabbings that occurred in 1997 and 1983

respectively, he said.

“The problem we have in this part of California is that we’re so

close to the border,” said Archer. “It’s easy for someone to slip

into Mexico and it makes it a bigger challenge for us to bring them

to justice.”

Garcia’s arrest is, however, rewarding, said Archer.

“It’s a good feeling when all the work you put in helps the

victim’s family some sense of closure,” he said. “The hardest part is

over, but we’re only halfway there.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@ latimes.com.