Lesly Palacio Murder: Where are Erick Rangel-Ibarra and his father, Jose Rangel Now? – Lesly Palacio was last seen at a casino and reported missing a month earlier. In September, her body was discovered close to the Valley of Fire. The 22-year-old woman’s murder was allegedly the work of Erick Rangel-Ibarra in August 2020. Jose Rangel admitted that he assisted his son, Erick Rangel-Ibarra, in removing Palacio’s body from the house by moving it. Palacio’s body was dumped in a desolate area after Rangel-Ibarra travelled to a location close to the Valley of Fire. “In Pursuit with John Walsh: Evil Deception,” an episode on Investigation Discovery, the tale of Lesly Palacio’s murder and how the police came to believe a father and son were responsible.
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Who Was Lesly Palacio and How Did She Die?
Lesly Palacio was born in May 1998 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was praised for being a supportive sister and a caring daughter. The 22-year-old was a nursing student who was only a few months away from graduating at the time of the incident. Lesly also had aspirations of working as a crime scene investigator. Lesly Palacio felt that everything was going well in her life, and she had big dreams, which were broken by killing her.
On August 28, 2020, Lesly left and was last seen by her loved ones. Later, she was seen on surveillance footage outside a house in Clark County, Nevada, at around 6 the next morning. But the hunt for Lesly was over not far from Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park. On September 9, 2020, her horribly decomposed remains were discovered concealed beneath a bush. Lesly was found at the site partially dressed, with her clothes having dirt on them that suggested she had been dragged. The cause and manner of death for Lesly could not remain unknown because she had been outside for such a long time.
Who Killed Lesly Palacio and Why?
After investigators examined CCTV footage from many locations, Lesly was eventually discovered with a man later identified as Erick Rangel-Ibarra. On camera, they can be seen drinking all through the night of August 28, 2020, when he was 25 years old. The cops then started looking for Erick. They discovered his home, and security footage from a neighbor’s house revealed important details about what transpired. On August 29, 2020, at around six in the morning, a pickup truck pulled up to the house, and the police thought Erick had helped a drunk Lesly get out of his car.
Two men were seen bringing a body out of the house and loading it into the vehicle at 7:26 in the morning. One was Erick, according to the authorities, and the other was Jose Rangel, Erick’s father. Jose was observed using a hose to wet the driveway as the pickup vehicle drove away with the body inside. The authorities discovered rubber gloves, cleaning supplies, and some human blood spatter inside the house. They also examined the dirt in its tyres and other CCTVs to determine where the truck might have gone that morning. In September 2020, the police found Lesly’s body close to the state park.
However, they ran away when the police arrived to apprehend the father and son. On January 19, 2021, Jose turned himself in at the US-Mexico border in San Diego, California, giving the authorities a reprieve. He admitted to the authorities that he and Erick had escaped to Mexico but afterwards parted ways. After that, Jose was taken to Nevada for an interview. On the morning of August 29, 2020, he claimed to have been in the garage when Erick arrived, dragging Lesly’s body while it was wrapped in a bedsheet. Jose thought she might have overdosed and died at the moment.
To keep the body away from other family members, Jose then decided to assist Erick in removing it from their home. Lesly, he asserted, was nude and showed no signs of trauma. Later that day, Erick started acting suspiciously, and Jose decided to go to Mexico with him. In addition, one of Lesly’s sisters remembered seeing Erick’s mother and sisters moving furniture while wearing gloves a few days after he vanished. After then, an acquaintance of Erick’s testified that Erick had requested a can of gasoline because he had killed someone. But at the time, the friend hadn’t taken him seriously.
Where Are Jose Rangel and Erick Rangel-Ibarra Now?
Jose Rangel, who was 46 at the time, entered a guilty plea to murder accessory and evidence destruction. He was given a two-year prison term with credit for prior time served. Jose apologised profusely in front of the judge, adding, “I feel very ashamed that this incident took place and that I as a father acted the way I did and did not go straight to the authorities when this happened. My love as a father won me over. I was so on the edge I didn’t know what to do. That betrayed me. I did not make the right decision.”
On April 28, 2022, Jose was released from prison after serving an eight-and-a-half-month sentence. While incarcerated, he participated in several programs, which helped him earn extra credit. Jose seems to have kept a low profile, which he does now. Nevada is still his last known whereabouts. Erick is wanted for murder but continues to evade capture. The authorities are still looking for Erick, who they believe to be in Mexico.
