Life sentence possible for woman accused in Puerto Rico of hiring hitman to kill husband
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Authorities say a Puerto Rican woman accused in a murder-for-hire scheme faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Aurea Vazquez Rijos was arrested Sunday in Spain as she was getting off a flight from Italy. The fugitive was charged in 2008 with hiring a man to kill her wealthy Canadian husband in a tourist district of the U.S. island's capital.
U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez told reporters Monday that the suspect is "exposed to life imprisonment on the charges as it is now."
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Carlos Cases is a FBI special agent in charge in Puerto Rico. He says investigators recently received information that Vazquez had bought a plane ticket to Spain using her U.S. passport.
Officials say the extradition process could take nine months.