SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An arrest has been made in the death of a 30-year-old woman whose body was found near the light rail station off Florin Road in South Sacramento.
On May 14th, 2021, someone killed 30-year-old Michelle Benavidez. Now eight months later, Sacramento police have announced they made an arrest of a 22-year-old man they believe is a suspect in her death.
Police Thursday said detectives identified Jaquane Baldwin-Badger as the suspect in Benavidez's killing. Law enforcement came to this conclusion after months of pouring through videos, conducting many interviews and following up on serving several search warrants.
"Baldwin-Badger had been in custody in a state prison facility since July 2021 for an unrelated case," police said in a press release. "On January 19th, Baldwin-Badger was extradited to Sacramento where he remains in custody in the Sacramento County Main Jail."
Read more about Benavidez's case:
The family of Benavidez spoke with ABC10's Madison Wade in September 2021, months after her death and well before the arrest was announced. They said Benavidez was a bright light, beautiful and loved by many.
At that time, the family pleaded for answers to the death of their loved one. Now, with the arrest, Paula Gardner, Benavidez's aunt, said everything stills feels "surreal."
"I don't think that my niece knew him at all. I think she was doing what she was doing. She was out there and walking home, and it was the wrong time," Gardner said.
Gardner believes her niece fought for her life.
"My niece is a fighter. If someone is messing with her, she won't allow them.
She probably fought, and thank goodness she did because that's probably how they found him," Gardner said.
Details on the suspect are scarce. Court records show he was charged with two felony counts of first degree burglary in 2019. This was after Baldwin-Badger was arrested in Chico after police say he broke into a student's apartment, stole multiple items and was confronted by the victim when he was found lying naked next to her bed. He was sentenced to 5 years of probation.
Sacramento police are asking anyone with information regarding this case to contact the dispatch center at (916) 808-5471 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357).
