Jesus Leal Huerta was taken into custody hours after Daisy Moctezuma was killed and two minors were assaulted in Lake Highlands.
DALLAS, TX — A man accused of killing a 35-year-old woman and assaulting two minors inside a Lake Highlands residence was arrested in Mexico hours after the attack, according to Dallas police.
Police identified the suspect as Jesus Leal Huerta and the woman who died as Daisy Moctezuma. Officers were called about 6:38 a.m. Aug. 9 to a disturbance requiring an ambulance in the 8300 block of Skillman Street. Investigators said Huerta entered the residence, assaulted two minors and stabbed Moctezuma. She died at the scene. Police said Huerta was taken into custody in Mexico later that evening and was awaiting extradition to Dallas County.
The Dallas Police Department said Huerta is expected to face charges of murder and injury to a child after he is returned to Texas. Police also said additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues. The department described its findings as preliminary and has not announced a motive for the attack.
Authorities in the Mexican state of Coahuila reported that Huerta was detained along Federal Highway 57 near Nava, a municipality south of the Texas border. The arrest came after Texas authorities identified him as a suspect in the Dallas killing. Mexican reporting said investigators from Coahuila participated in taking him into custody as authorities worked toward returning him to Texas.
Moctezuma’s sister, Leslie Hernandez, told FOX 4 that Moctezuma had been in a relationship with Huerta and had been trying to leave after experiencing what Hernandez described as physical and emotional abuse. Hernandez said police had previously been called in connection with problems involving the relationship. Those family claims were reported separately from the Dallas Police Department’s initial account of the homicide.
Hernandez also said her daughter was one of the two minors assaulted at the residence and had been staying with Moctezuma for the weekend. Police did not initially release the conditions of the children or publicly detail the injuries they suffered. Their identities have not been released by police.
The killing prompted a police response and search in the Lake Highlands area before authorities learned Huerta had traveled into Mexico. The residence is along Skillman Street near Lake Highlands High School. Police said the investigation is documented as case number 116314-2026.
Dallas police have not publicly described evidence they believe links Huerta to the killing beyond the findings announced in their preliminary investigation. Authorities also have not publicly disclosed what led up to the disturbance, whether anyone else was inside the residence or what prompted Huerta’s alleged actions. A criminal charge is an accusation, and guilt would have to be established in court.
In its Aug. 10 public update, Dallas police said Huerta remained in custody in Mexico awaiting extradition to Dallas County. No later official update confirming his return to Texas was located in the reviewed public material. The homicide investigation remains ongoing, and police have said additional charges are possible as detectives continue examining the case.
Author note: Last updated October 17, 2026.