A Colombian man who entered the U.S. illegally in 1995 after being convicted of murdering his wife and shooting his daughter in Colombia has been caught by FBI special agents, the bureau reported Wednesday.
William Hernando Usma Acosta, 61, shot and killed his wife in June 1994, and also shot his daughter who survived. Acosta fled the country after the murder and made his way to Massachusetts, changing his name to Carlos Alberto Rendon, the FBI’s Boston office said in a press release.
The FBI received information in 2020 that Acosta was living in the Boston area. Agents eventually tracked Acosta to his home in Belmont, Massachusetts, before they arrested him on Wednesday while he was going to work.
Acosta married an American in 1998 and received permanent resident status in the U.S. He, along with his wife and son, lived in Somerville, Massachusetts, before moving to Belmont, where he lived until his arrest.
FBI agents matched Acosta’s fingerprints to Colombian records and determined he was the man convicted of murder 27 years earlier in the South American country.
“In 2020, Rendon submitted his application for naturalization to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. As part of that application, Rendon submitted a Colombian birth certificate and fingerprints,” the press release stated. “The FBI compared Rendon’s fingerprints against those of Usma Acosta which were provided by the Colombian National Police and determined they were an exact match. Investigators also determined that the Colombian birth certificate that Rendon submitted was fraudulent.”
Acosta’s ability to enter the U.S. illegally, change his name, and start a new life far away from his native country helped him escape justice for so long.
“William Hernando Usma Acosta is a convicted cold-blooded killer who thought he could evade justice by entering the United States and creating a new identity for himself so he could live under the radar. He needs to face justice for what he did, and today’s arrest ensures that he will,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta said. “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will not be a safe haven for those wanted in their native countries, and the FBI will continue to leverage our international partnerships to remove dangerous fugitives like him from our communities.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will proceed to remove Acosta from the country “for violating the conditions of his legal permanent residency status.” He will then be given over to Colombian law enforcement.
Acosta’s arrest comes as illegal immigrants continue to stream across the southern border. The Biden administration has also recently planned to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed Border Patrol expel illegal immigrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic and force them to await their asylum claims outside of the U.S. Experts have criticized the administration for the decision, warning that a migrant “tsunami” will follow if Title 42 ends.