A California woman accused of killing and decapitating her boyfriend last year has been arrested in Mexico after a monthslong search, Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
Alyssa Marie Lira, 23, of Anaheim, faces one count of murder with a felony enhancement for personally using a weapon, prosecutors announced Thursday. Lira, who had been working as an exotic dancer, has been extradited from Mexico to face murder charges.
On Aug. 25, 2025, the decapitated body of 55-year-old Enrique Gonzalez-Carbajal was found inside Lira’s Anaheim home. Homicide detectives quickly identified Lira as the suspect, prosecutors said, and learned that she had fled to Mexico.
The couple had been dating for about two months and met as Lira was working at a local strip club, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
Local authorities worked with the FBI and Mexican officials to locate and arrest Lira. She was taken into custody Jan. 22 and turned over to Anaheim police homicide detectives the following day at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Authorities did not disclose where in Mexico she was found.
“It’s just a testament to our never-ending pursuit of justice and bringing her back and making sure she’s held accountable,” Director of Public Affairs Kimberly Edds told Law & Crime on Thursday. “This was somebody who was in a dating relationship [with Gonzalez-Carbajal] … who you would assume had some kind of feelings for him, and then for her to be able to engage in that level of just heinous violence, it’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking for the victim, it’s heartbreaking for the victim’s family.”
Lira is being held without bail at the Orange County Jail with arraignment scheduled for Feb. 13. she faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison.
“This investigation and prosecution are a testament to the tenacity and dedication of the Anaheim Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and our federal and international partners to identify a cold-blooded killer, track her down in a foreign country, and bring her back to the United States to face the full weight of the law,” Spitzer said.
Prosecutors have not yet revealed a motive for the killing.
