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Yessenia Norman murder suspect extradited to Arizona

By and
Updated  February 18, 2026 1:44pm MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix
article

Randal Santillan and Yessenia Norman.

The Brief

    • Yessenia Norman, 18, was found dead on Jan. 28 at a Tolleson apartment complex after she was reported missing out of Phoenix. Investigators say she was stabbed 27 times.
    • The suspect in her death, 27-year-old Randal Santillan, was arrested in Mississippi on Feb. 6. He has been extradited to Arizona and booked into Maricopa County Jail.
    • Santillan is accused of first-degree murder and kidnapping.

PHOENIX - The man accused of brutally killing a Phoenix woman has been extradited to Arizona following his arrest in Mississippi.

Randal Santillan, 27, was arrested on Feb. 6 in Biloxi. He has been booked into Maricopa County Jail and is accused of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Yessenia Norman.

The backstory:

Norman, 18, was reported missing on Jan. 19. She had been living at a transitional facility that is contracted with the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

Ring video from the night of Jan. 15 shows Norman leaving the transitional home. According to her friends, she was meeting with someone she met on a dating app.

Police confirmed that she was found dead at a Tolleson apartment complex on Jan. 28.

Dig deeper:

According to investigators, Norman was stabbed 27 times. Her body was mutilated, and covered in blankets and towels.

"I can’t imagine. I just can’t imagine," said Norman's mother, Jessica Calderon. "Who would do that to her? I don’t understand."

Related

Yessenia Norman: Missing AZ woman stabbed 27 times; arrest made in case
article

Yessenia Norman: Missing AZ woman stabbed 27 times; arrest made in case

An arrest has been made in the case of an Arizona woman who was found dead after she went missing for weeks.

Court records reveal that Santillan and his ex-wife were the tenants of that apartment unit, but the ex had left Santillan last December.

Police say Santillan left Tolleson immediately, as license plate readers tracked his vehicle over the following days in New Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Missouri, and finally Mississippi. Both the suspect and victim’s cell phone devices are located in the area of Norman’s residence the night she disappeared.

The Source: FOX 10's Justin Lum and a previous report on Feb. 6.

Crime and Public SafetyPhoenixNews