FBI Sacramento offers $20,000 reward for man wanted in girlfriend’s 1986 fatal stabbing
The FBI Sacramento Field Office on Wednesday announced a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the arrest of a man who stabbed his girlfriend to death more than 30 years ago in Sutter County.
Efren Calderas-Meza, the fugitive who should be 68 years old, will be featured Wednesday night in an episode of “In Pursuit With John Walsh” on the Investigation Discovery channel.
Calderas-Meza fatally stabbed Eva Crist, a 32-year-old mother of three, in the early hours of Feb. 8, 1986, during a violent encounter in an alley behind a Yuba City bar.
Crist met Calderas-Meza, who would become her on-again-off-again boyfriend, in Fresno before he became violent with her and the relationship ended, according to the Investigation Discovery show. Crist moved away from him to Yuba City. Her now adult daughters told the show’s host that Calderas-Meza later made up with their mother and moved in with her in Yuba City, before he continued to terrorize their family.
Witnesses told police that Calderas-Meza stabbed Crist multiple times behind the Oasis Tavern located on Plumas Street in Yuba City, the FBI said in a news release. Medics took Crist to the Rideout Hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Calderas-Meza fled prosecution shortly after the Yuba City Police Department obtained an arrest warrant on suspicion of homicide in Crist’s death. In February of this year, the FBI obtained a federal warrant for Calderas-Meza on suspicion of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in the United States.
The FBI said the fugitive has used several aliases, including Jorge Diaz Garcia, Roberto Alvidres and Pedro Meza; and he has been known to provide false birth dates.
Investigators believe Calderas-Meza may have ties to Fresno, along with Whatcom and Skagit counties in Washington and Zacatecas and Nayarit in Mexico.
Calderas-Meza has been described as 5-foot-four with brown or black hair and brown eyes at the time of the fatal stabbing. He had a tattoo of rosary beads and “ECM” or “EXCM” on the web of his left hand, along with a tattoo with “Carmen” or “Carmon” in small text along a scar on his right breast.
The FBI has released photos of Calderas-Meza before his disappearance and artist renderings of what he might look like today.
Investigators asked anyone with information regarding Calderas-Meza’s location to call the nearest FBI office or the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Anyone with information also can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-225-5924 or the Yuba City Police Department at 530-822-2026.
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
