A Florida man accused of gunning down a couple execution-style in front of their 3-year-old child is behind bars, marking a breakthrough in a cold case that has left a family reeling for more than three decades.
William Antonio Solis, 62, was arrested by federal authorities in Tampa on Wednesday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
“For more than 30 years, this Bronx double murder has haunted a family and the people of New York,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “That ends today.”
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Solis, who also operated under the names “La Vega” and “Vegano,” is charged with intentional killing while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy stemming from the killings of Luis Guerrero and his wife Danis Sime in New York City, federal prosecutors said.
Authorities allege on July 21, 1993, Solis and two co-conspirators plotted a robbery of Guerrero, a narcotics supplier, at his Bronx apartment.
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After Solis and the co-conspirators entered the residence, they allegedly bound Guerrero, stole his drugs and lured Sime into the apartment to restrain her as well, prosecutors said.
Solis then allegedly shot both Guerrero and Sime in an execution-style killing in front of their 3-year-old child, according to authorities.
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At the time of the alleged murders, the couple’s young son told police that a man had pointed a gun at his mother, covered her head with a pillowcase and “took her away,” according to the New York Daily News.
Neighbors reportedly found the child crying for his parents outside the apartment complex.
“He was screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” neighbor Chris Anton previously told the outlet. “He was scared.”
“I tried to ask [the boy] some questions and all he would say was, ‘El Otro took his mother and put a cover over her head,” Anton reportedly added. “I bought him pizza, ice cream – anything he wanted.”
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At the time of the alleged murders, police were reportedly investigating Guerrero’s possible drug connection, with neighbors telling the New York Daily News the couple were “nice, quiet people” and “never bothered anyone.”
Authorities did not release additional details regarding how investigators were led to Solis.
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If convicted, Solis faces the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison, according to the DOJ.
“As alleged, William Solis spent decades hiding in plain sight more than a thousand miles from where he viciously murdered the Guerreros in front of their young child,” HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso said.
“This arrest is the result of years of meticulous investigative work by dedicated special agents and task force officers who refused to let this case go cold,” Alfonso added.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
