Suspected drug trafficker charged with killing 2 witnesses in Washington state

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A suspected drug trafficker has been charged with killing two people who were potential witnesses against him in federal court in San Diego. That’s according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the defendant is suspected in the deaths of Cesar Armando Murillo, 44, and Maira Sofia Hernandez, 33, as well as Hernandez’s unborn child. The remains were found last September buried in a remote high-desert area near Yakima, Washington. Prosecutors allege the defendant was a leader in a drug trafficking organization that brought illegal narcotics over the U.S. border to San Diego via Mexico in 2021.