Family of Sarah Jane Carr cherishes her memory, thanks persistent detectives after cold case arrest
PHOENIX - Phoenix Police say their cold case detectives have made an arrest in a murder that happened over a quarter of a century ago.
In a statement, a Phoenix Police spokesperson said they arrested 58-year-old Javier Lorenzano-Nunez in connection with the murder of Sarah Jane Carr in July of 1998.
Per the statement, officers responded to a shooting call on July 9, 1998 at a home near 14th Street and McDowell Road. Inside, officers found Carr with a gunshot wound. The victim was 28 at the time of her death.
Family of Sarah Jane Carr cherish her memory
Carr's children mostly know her through the cherished memories of others.
"I remember her always being there, doing right by her kids. She was a great mom. She was really tough," said Gregory Miller, her oldest son who was 11 when she was killed.
A loving mother of six, Sarah's family worried for years that justice would never come... But they never worried about forgetting her.
"This is a prayer that I've prayed every night, you know, for justice," said Peggy Carr, her sister.
(Photo courtesy of the family of Sarah Jane Carr)
There were always subtle reminders of her that continued to pop up in everyday life.
"She had a very kind heart and she loved the band Journey, so any time Journey comes on it's very hard to listen to but I always think of her," said her daughter, Jessica Miller.
Her son Garrett Miller, took his grief and turned it into a mission to serve others as a police officer in Austin, TX.
"Growing up the way I felt of 'will I ever get justice? Will I ever get closure? I didn't like that feeling and I didn't want other people to feel that," he said.
Carr's family learned this week from the Phoenix Police, along with the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Marshals had successfully extradited Javier Lorenzano-Nunez from Mexico and charged him with homicide.
Her family was overwhelmed with emotion.
"All I've ever known is this guy is just on the run and probably having a family himself and being able to spend time with his family," Miller said.
Her son Garrett was ready for the moment of justice he had based his whole career around. He also played a special role in handcuffing Lorenzano-Nunez.
A special set of handcuffs were gifted to him after he graduated from the a coach and father figure at the police academy and he waited for this exact moment to put them into use.
""He said ‘hey, I wanna see you put these on a bad guy,’ and I knew as soon as I got those handcuffs what I wanted to do with them. I didn't wanna put them on any everyday bad guy. I didn't wanna use them for my first arrest. I said 'I'll do you one better and I wanna use them when this guy is caught.' When I was finally able to hand them over to the detective and see the detective trade out the marshal's handcuffs for my handcuffs, it was a pinnacle point for me," he said.
The family's message to others searching for justice in cold cases is to never lose hope and to stay in contact with the detectives investigating these cases
They said it was important to be patient and sometimes justice takes time.
How was Lorenzano-Nunez caught?
"The original detectives who worked this case only had a nickname for the suspect, but his identity was still unknown. The homicide investigation went cold until 2016 when cold case detectives were able to identify the suspect as Javier Lorenzano-Nunez," read a portion of the statement.
Officials say detectives contacted the U.S. Justice Department, who worked with law enforcement officials in Mexico to locate and arrest the suspect.
Javier Lorenzano-Nunez
"The Department of Justice and the U.S. Marshals Service worked to finalize and complete the extradition of Lorenzano-Nunez to Phoenix on October 23, 2024. The Phoenix Police Department took custody of Lorenzano-Nunez Wednesday evening who was then booked into jail for the outstanding warrant related to the homicide," officials wrote.