Partnerships key in making arrest in 2023 homicide case where suspect fled country

A Madison man accused of killing his wife and fleeing the country in 2023 is now in custody at the Dane County Jail.

Jose de Jesus Duenas-Quinonez, 40, was booked into the Dane County Jail on first-degree intentional homicide charges on Tuesday. He made his initial appearance in Dane County Court on Thursday.

He is charged in the death of Micaela Juarez Ocolt. She was fatally stabbed at her west side business on April 24, 2023. Hours after responding to the scene, detectives with the Madison Police Department's Violent Crime Unit were able to identify Duenas-Quinonez as a suspect. Early into the investigation, it was learned that he had fled to Mexico with the couple's young daughter.

"Once a suspect goes international, we no longer have the ability to pursue them on our own," said Madison Police Chief John Patterson. "Since the start of this investigation, our partners at the FBI have stepped in and stepped up to provide the required assistance needed to track down and arrest the suspect."

For more than three years, the Madison Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation worked together to locate the suspect and his daughter. The FBI credits their personnel in the Legat Mexico and assistance by Mexican authorities in locating and arresting the suspect. Duenas-Quinonez was arrested in January and brought back to the United States in late May.

"Combatting violent crime is a mission priority for the FBI. We will continue working every day with our law enforcement partners locally and internationally to ensure no criminal can evade justice by disappearing across borders," said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Alan Karr. "We hope the arrest and extradition of the defendant will assist in bringing justice for the family of the homicide victim."

The couple's daughter was found safe. She is currently back in the United States living with family. The family asks for privacy at this time.