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Jorge Rueda Landeros was arrested in Mexico in December 2022 and charged with the first-degree murder of Sue Marcum.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Jury selection begins Monday in the case of a murdered American University professor 15 years ago. Jorge Rueda Landeros was arrested in Mexico in December 2022 and charged with first-degree murder. He has been in custody since.
On Oct. 25, 2010, Sue Marcum was found dead in the basement of her home, which, according to the FBI, looked like it had been burglarized. Officials later determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.
Editor’s note: The above video was published in 2023.
Through an investigation by detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department, it was determined that Rueda Landeros, 52, had a personal and financial relationship with Marcum.
Charging documents say that Marcum and Rueda Landeros became jointly involved in an investment fund to which she made the initial contribution in 2008. Investigators discovered a tax form in Marcum’s name that showed proceeds from the fund of over $100 million. Investigators also learned that Rueda Landeros was the sole beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance policy in the event of Marcum’s death.
According to documents, investigators took a closer look at Marcum’s computer and emails. Emails exchanged between Marcum and Rueda Landeros were found. From the emails, investigators said it was clear that Marcum was increasingly concerned and uneasy about the way Rueda Landeros was handling the funds in the brokerage account.
Officers connected Rueda Landeros to the murder, but it was revealed that he fled to Mexico or Central America after her death. On April 16, 2011, an arrest warrant for first-degree murder was issued for him in the Montgomery County District Court. Almost two months later, on June 2, a federal arrest warrant was issued for him on the charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in the U.S. District Court, according to the FBI.
In December 2022, the FBI Baltimore Field Office received information stating that Rueda Landeros was likely living in Guadalajara, Jalisco. He was reportedly teaching yoga under an alias.
On Dec. 13 of that year, an operation was conducted with the Legat, Mexico Task Force, and Jalisco State Police to apprehend Rueda Landeros, where he was taken into custody.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in Montgomery County Circuit Court. It’s not clear how long the trial could last.
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