More than five years after Aurora police say Javier Aguirre brutally killed a 45-year-old woman during a robbery at an apartment complex, he has been extradited from Mexico to face trial.
Aguirre, 35, faces charges of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery in the March 2010 death of Lyndsay Pham, .
Pham was beaten and stabbed in the office of the northwest Aurora Descanso Plaza Apartments she owned and managed, Adams County prosecutors say. .
Pham’s widower, Michael Pham, on Wednesday called the extradition “a big relief.”
“It took a long time, but I know that the system, with all the paperwork and everything, takes time,” he said. “We, as a family, were glad that he got brought back to stand trial and will face his charges here.”
Pham said he sold the Descanso Plaza in the months after his wife’s slaying because there were “too many memories there.”
“It’s been hard, especially on the kids,” he said. “If I bring it up, they start to cry. It’s still hard on them.”
Prosecutors said details on Pham’s extradition were not available Wednesday.
“I’m very thankful to the Mexican government and our government for their efforts in bringing this defendant back so we can proceed with the charges against him in this horrendous crime,” Adams County District Attorney Dave Young said in a statement.
Aguirre is a Mexican citizen, and authorities say he conspired with Lupe Rubio, the assistant manager at Descanso Plaza, to kill Pham.
Rubio, 48, pleaded guilty in the case and is at the La Vista Correctional Facility.
Aguirre, who arrived back in the United States on Friday, is due in court Oct. 14 for a formal advisement of the charges and setting of a preliminary hearing. He is being held at the Adams County jail without bail.
