The American mom-of-two who was found beaten to death with all of her teeth pulled out and part of her scalp removed in Mexico had been lured across the border by her killer, who told her that her boyfriend had been kidnapped, investigators say.
Braulio Trevino Martínez, 39, was arrested at his home in the subdivision of Molinos del Rey on Tuesday for the murder of 23-year-old Lizbeth Flores, a law enforcement official confirmed to DailyMail.com.
The official said the motive for the brutally violent crime was a robbery.
Trevino Martínez - a convicted child sex offender - was known by Flores and her family, DailyMail.com has learned, though the exact nature of their relationship currently remains unclear.
A source familiar with the investigation told DailyMail.com that Trevino Martinez allegedly lured her across the border by telling her that her boyfriend had been kidnapped and she needed to pay a ransom.
Flores was found dead on August 11, two days after she traveled from Brownsville, Texas, to the town of Matamoros where her boyfriend - who is also the father of her two young children - lives.
She died from a blunt-force trauma to the head after being struck with a rock that was found next to her body.
Trevino Martínez is a registered sex offender in Texas. He served four years in prison between 2006 and 2010 on one charge of child sexual assault and one count of indecency with a child. His address at the time was also in Browsnville.
Braulio Martínez was arrested at his home in the subdivision of Molinos del Rey on Tuesday for the murder of 23-year-old Flores
The official said the motive for the brutally violent crime was a robbery (pictured: Braulio Martínez is seen being led out of a police station by cops with his head down)
Flores reportedly died from a blunt-force trauma to the head after being struck with a rock that was found next to her body
Flores left her home in Brownsville on August 9 and walked across the Veterans International Bridge, crossing the US-Mexico border to Matamoros.
Later the same day she spoke to her mother, María Rubio, on the phone and said she would be returning home to Brownsville that night, however she was never heard from again.
Less than 24 hours later, Rubio called the Brownsville Police Department on August 10 to report her daughter missing. She was found dead the following day.
A Mexican government official told DailyMail.com that Flores' semi-naked, lifeless body was located on a grass field next to a construction site.
Officials say the stretch of land where Flores was killed, a vacant lot on the Emilio Portes Gil bypass, is notorious for robberies.
Crime scene images leaked on social media show Flores' body lying face up, with her shirt off, wearing just her bra, pants and shoes.
Law enforcement reported that a part of Flores' scalp had been removed and that all of her teeth had been taken out by force.
Lizbeth Flores, a mother of two children from Brownsville, Texas, was killed last week while visiting the Mexican border city of Matamoros. She walked across the Veterans International Bridge to allegedly visit her boyfriend August 9 and was found next to a construction site August 11
María Rubio has said learning of her daughter's brutal murder has been like having her heart 'ripped out'
Trevino Martínez is a registered sex offender in Texas. He served four years in prison between 2006 and 2010 on one charge of child sexual assault and one count of indecency with a child
He was detained in a state prison in Huntsville for four years after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault on a child. The victim was listed as a 15-year-old female
Rubio has said learning of her daughter's brutal murder has been like having her heart 'ripped out', she told Telemundo.
'I feel very sad for what they did to my daughter. How they left her is what pains me. The pain that my daughter went through there at that time is what pains me.
'She was young, she had many things ahead of her and more because she had two children,' Rubio said. 'And I want those who did that to my daughter, each one who participated in her death, I want them to pay.'
Law enforcement say Trevino Martínez, who is originally from Brownsville, was known to Rubio and Flores though the exact nature of their relations is currently unknown.
Texas jail records observed by DailyMail.com show that Trevino Martínez was convicted of child sex offenses in Texas, in 2006.
He was detained in a state prison in Huntsville for four years after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual assault on a child, a 15-year-old female.
Trevino Martínez was released from prison in 2010.
Officials say the stretch of land where Flores was killed, a vacant lot in the Emilio Portes Gil bypass, is notorious for robberies
Flores' mother said she is trying to repatriate her daughter's body with the help of a Texas funeral home.
Juan Carlos Cué Vega, Mexico's Consul in Brownsville, Texas told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that the Mexican government had previously offered María Rubio assistance in returning Flores back before a local funeral parlor stepped in to help the grieving family.
Vega also said that the funeral home was awaiting clearance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bring back the body.
It is unknown if a local criminal group or cartel was involved with Flores' killing.
In recent years, Matamoros and other neighboring border cities in the state of Tamaulipas has been subjected to a spike in violent incidents involving the Cartel del Noreste [Northeast Cartel] and its murder squadron, the notorious Tropa del Infierno [Gang from Hell].
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