UPDATE 4/16/25: Channel 13 received a statement from Regina Lacerda, Tabatha Tozzi's mother concerning the arrest of Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez.
“I am happy and also very sad. I am happy because the killer of my daughter Tabatha got caught, a moment we had been waiting for almost 2 years! I knew in my heart this moment was arriving soon, and it finally did.
But I am also very sad because he took the life of another young woman: Vivian Karely. Her name deserves to be honored and we will keep honoring her as well.
I am heartbroken that the mother will be going through what I’ve gone to through these last two years. I don’t desire this on anyone! It is very painful to lose your daughter and especially through a horrible feminicide. No mother deserves this and I want the family to know that I am here to support them and will fight with them for justice.
The fight is not over. Justice is still not completely served. We want him to serve prison time and for him to serve ideally here in Las Vegas. We are now on another wait to see what happens and we will continue fighting for justice to be completely served.
I want to say thank you to everyone that has supported us and is still supporting us. Thank you to the police, the FBI, the Marshall, the Mexican police, the media here and the media in Mexico. Thank you Taby Tribe and all the people that have reached out, who have spread Taby’s story and supported us. I truly appreciate it so much.
I am currently not in the position to speak to anyone and please ask for space to process all of this. I am also not in the country at the moment, which makes it hard to be in contact with everyone that is reaching out but I will be back for Tabatha’s celebration of life on April 24th where I will speak more on the topic.
We invite you all to attend Tabatha’s celebration of life on April 24th to honor Tabatha and everything she is and continue fighting for justice to be served.
WATCH: Mexican authorities arrest Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez for femicide and forced disappearance charges
Tozzi's family is inviting the public to celebrate her life in a memorial on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at Craig Ranch Regional Park.
After nearly two years of heartbreak and unanswered questions, the family of Tabatha Tozzi may finally see justice take a step forward.
Oswaldo Nathanahel Perez-Sanchez, the man accused of killing 26-year-old Tabatha Tozzi in Las Vegas in April 2023, was arrested Tuesday in Sonora, Mexico.
Mexican authorities confirmed in a Facebook post that the Unidad Especializada en Aprehensiones arrested Perez-Sanchez in Ciudad Obregón, acting on a warrant issued by the attorney general's office in Sinaloa.
Perez-Sanchez is also being investigated in connection with the femicide and forced disappearance of another woman whose body was discovered on April 7, 2025, in Villa Fontana, Culiacán.
He had reportedly been living under the alias “Jorge N” while hiding in the region.
Authorities say he is now being transported to Culiacán, where he will be held at the Aguaruto Penitentiary and presented before the Court of Control and Criminal Prosecution. In a news release on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department wrote that Perez-Sanchez's extradition to the United States is pending.
Las Vegas police thanked multiple agencies for "their extensive follow-up and collaboration with Mexican authorities to locate Pereze-Sanchez," including the U.S. Marshals Service Nevada Violent Offender Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service - District of Arizona Tucson, the FBI, DEA Nogales Resident Office and the Customs and Border Protection Special Operations Group in San Diego.
"We have relentlessly pursued this fugitive, and the family can rest knowing that he is now in custody," District of Nevada U.S. Marshal Gary Schofield stated.
"The collaboration required to apprehend this fugitive exemplifies the importance of teamwork," added FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans. "We hope this outcome provides a measure of peace to the family, knowing that he is now in custody."
A mother’s unimaginable loss
The arrest marks a major development in a case that has gripped the Las Vegas community for nearly two years. Tabatha Tozzi, a young woman described by friends and family as bright, loving, and full of potential, was killed in April of 2023. Metro police say she was shot outside of a northwest Las Vegas home, allegedly by her boyfriend, Perez-Sanchez, before he fled the country.
Her mother, Regina Lacerda, has been a tireless advocate for justice ever since. In multiple emotional interviews, she spoke candidly about the pain of losing her daughter and the torment of knowing the suspect remained at large.
“The day before this happened, she even told me, ‘Mom, I’m not happy. I’m trying to break up with him, but I’m afraid,’” Lacerda previously told Channel 13. “She said she was afraid he’d do something to himself. And I said, ‘To himself or to you?’”
On the morning of the shooting, Lacerda received a frantic call from her daughter asking to be picked up. “I couldn’t make it there on time to save my daughter,” she recalled, through tears.
The search for justice
For months, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI worked to locate Perez-Sanchez. Ten days after the shooting, Metro Police released his photo to the public. Some, including Lacerda, questioned whether releasing it earlier might have made a difference.
In 2023, on what would have been Tabatha’s 27th birthday, the FBI announced they had officially joined the case, intensifying the international search and raising the reward for information to $30,000.
Retired LVMPD Lieutenant Randy Sutton had said at the time, “You can run for a while, but they are on the scent, and once they’re on the scent, they’re not getting off it.”
A community united: “The Tabby Tribe”
Throughout the investigation, friends and supporters formed what became known as the "Tabby Tribe"—a passionate group determined to keep Tabatha’s memory alive and demand accountability. Vigils, rallies, and memorials were held across the Las Vegas valley.
“My daughter will never be a cold case,” Lacerda told the crowd during a memorial event at the Metro Police Headquarters. “We will always fight for her.”
