Police, family await extradition

Deepa Bharath

Local police and the Orange County district attorney have filed

papers with the U.S. Department of Justice to extradite the man they

believe murdered a 16-year-old girl in Fairview Park a little over

two years ago.

After being featured twice on Fox TV’s “America’s Most Wanted,”

19-year-old Victor Garcia was finally arrested in Mexico City on Oct.

16 on a domestic violence charge, police said.

Ceceline Godsoe’s fully clothed body was discovered on a

brush-covered trail in the park during the wee hours of Sept. 21,

2001. Police said she had been bludgeoned to death.

Investigators, within days, identified Garcia as a suspect.

Ceceline’s friends told police they had seen Garcia with her the

night before Ceceline was found dead.

Garcia’s extradition from Mexico could take anywhere between a few

months to several years, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Laird, who

deals with the county’s extradition cases.

“It’s very hard to tell how long it could take,” she said. “It

depends on the country’s policies and the protections they have in

place. For example, we’ve been trying to get this suspect from Canada

for four years now.”

But the extradition process has improved with Mexico in the last

few years, Laird said.

“But there’s still a process we need to go through,” she said.

The papers that have been filed with the Department of Justice

will be translated to Spanish and sent to Mexico, Laird said. Mexican

officials will then evaluate the papers and make a decision on the

case, she said.

“He would have hearings and appeals in Mexico if he decides to

fight the extradition,” Laird said. “When he loses his case, we’d be

able to bring him back here.”

But terms of a treaty between the two countries dictates that

local agencies cannot have direct contact with the foreign

governments. They all must go through the Department of Justice’s

Office of International Affairs. Mexico also does not extradite

individuals who are facing either the death penalty or a life

sentence without the possibility of parole, Laird said.

Ceceline’s father, William Godsoe, said he does not know much

about the extradition process except that it is going to be a long

and drawn-out.

“It certainly would be a relief to have it resolved soon and have

everything out in the open,” he said.

Godsoe said he doesn’t believe in the death penalty.

“I don’t want anyone killed,” he said. “We already have one person

killed here.”

All he wants is for Garcia to stand trial, Godsoe said.

“We don’t know that he’s guilty,” he said. “He hasn’t had the

trial yet.”

Police said Garcia had celebrated the birth of his child on the

morning of Sept. 21, 2001. Later that afternoon, as his wife was

recovering in the hospital, Garcia went partying with some friends.

They then went to Fairview Park where Garcia and his two male friends

met Ceceline and a 19-year-old male friend, officials said.

The group of teenagers began socializing and after a while

Ceceline went off with Garcia. She never returned. A couple of hours

later, Ceceline’s friend went looking for her and found her

bludgeoned to death and lying on that trail. Officials said she was

beaten so badly that she drowned in her own blood.

Police had surveillance tape of Garcia buying beer that evening in

a convenience store. They also had video of Garcia holding his

newborn daughter that morning in the hospital. Both tapes were played

in the episode of “America’s Most Wanted.”

Costa Mesa Police Det. Sgt. Jack Archer said the police department

hopes Garcia can be brought back to the United States so that justice

can be served.

“We’re hoping he’ll be extradited and stand trial in Orange

County,” he said. “This is where the crime was committed. So this is

where he should be tried.”