Miami

Ohio Fugitive Tied to Miami Motel Murder Caught in Kansas: Authorities

An Ohio fugitive wanted in connection with a Miami murder has been captured in Kansas along with his wife, authorities confirm.

Michael Douglas Evans and his wife Kristy Evans were apprehended by U.S. Marshals late Thursday in a motel room in Hays, Kansas, roughly three hours northwest of Wichita, officials with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office have confirmed.

Kristy's 7-year-old daughter Jala Barnett was safe and in the custody of child protective services in Kansas, the sheriff's office said. She will be given to a relative in Ohio for custody.

"We are relieved that this dangerous fugitive is now in custody and that this innocent young girl is now safely removed from potential harm," Tuscarawas Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Orvis Campbell said in a statement.

The couple has been on the run with the girl since early May. Michael was wanted in Ohio for failure to appear for aggravated robbery and felony assault charges, and is also a suspect in the murder of 46-year-old Joe Moniz, whose body was found at the Sunshine Inn Motel in Miami.

The family was staying in the same Miami motel room where Moniz's body was discovered on June 6.

Shortly after the body was discovered, a missing child alert was issued for Barnett.

Authorities also recovered a 2005 Audi A4 convertible in a WalMart parking lot near the motel in Kansas. The vehicle is believed to be the one Moniz was driving before his murder, officials said.

Moniz's ex-wife expressed relief at the arrest.

"This happened last night and today is his birthday and it is just so odd that everything happened all at once and I could not be happier," Elaine Moniz said in a phone interview Friday.

Michael and Kristy Evans are awaiting extradition to Ohio, and investigators from Miami are on the way to Kansas to continue the homicide investigation of Moniz.

"That is something that we do routinely," Miami Police spokeswoman Kenia Fallat said. "If someone that we need to speak with is in a different state then absolutely we will take that extra mile and travel up to them."

If charged in Moniz's murder, Michael Evans could be extradited to Miami.

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