Camron Lee captured in Mexico, kids found after 2 years on run in Sacramento mom’s killing
Camron Lee is in custody in a San Diego jail and will face murder and weapons charges in Sacramento as early as Thursday in the killing of Sacramento mother Angelica Bravo.
The two children the fugitive father spirited away to Mexico after Bravo’s slaying nearly two years ago are safe in Sacramento County with their maternal grandmother, said Sacramento and federal authorities at a news conference Tuesday in downtown Sacramento.
“Since July 8, 2024, Angelica Bravo’s family has been waiting for justice,” Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho told reporters with FBI Sacramento Acting Special Agent in Charge Eugene Wu and Sacramento Police Chief Zachary Bales. Lee’s arrest Sunday and his return to California, Ho said, “brings the family closer to justice and the healing that they deserve.”
Sacramento County District Attorney’s prosecutors have filed an open count of murder in Bravo’s death along with gun charges in Sacramento Superior Court, Ho said, as they await Lee’s extradition to Sacramento County.
A tip two weeks ago led FBI investigators, with help from Mexican authorities and military personnel, to Primo Tapia, the Baja California town where Lee, now 40, was captured without incident, Wu said.
The children, Athena Lee, 5, and Mateo Lee, 4, were asleep as the long, complex operation to capture their father Sunday evening reached its end in Baja.
Athena and Mateo are “healthy and happy to be here,” Wu said of their reunification with Bravo’s family in Elk Grove. “They’re in good spirits.”
Wu later remarked on the Bravo family’s courage through the nearly two-year manhunt for Lee.
“Her family stood with us ... reminding everyone that these children need to come home. Her family kept our search alive,” Wu said. “Their strength and trust in the face of uncertainty motivated all of us.”
Lee, 40, was booked into San Diego Central Jail at 1:22 a.m. by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. Jail records list him as ineligible for release and show a murder charge along with a federal hold in connection with Bravo’s death.
Bravo, 28, was found dead at her home on Didcot Circle in North Sacramento’s Oak Knoll neighborhood. Friends had asked police to check on her, and officers found her unresponsive in a bathtub.
“Today marks another step forward in the pursuit of justice for Angelica Bravo, her family, and all those impacted by her murder in July 2024,” said Zachary Bales, Sacramento Police Department’s interim chief, adding that “Mr. Lee will now be held accountable for his actions.”
“This case sends a clear message that violence will not be tolerated in our community, and those who harm others will be pursued with determination and resolve,” Bales said. “Our thoughts remain with Ms. Bravo’s family and loved ones, and we hope this development brings them a measure of solace as they continue to carry this profound loss.”
Investigators said Lee had taken the children and fled in a gray 2023 Honda Passport that was later seen crossing into Mexico. The vehicle was eventually found abandoned near Ensenada. Authorities on Tuesday said Lee is “proficient” in Spanish but declined to say whether he had help eluding law enforcement while in Mexico.
Those questions, DA Ho said, will be “answered in time.”
Lee was initially described as a person of interest before prosecutors charged him with murder. Authorities said the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office later concluded that homicide could not be ruled out in Bravo’s death. Her body had multiple injuries, and toxicology testing detected MDMA in her system.
Bravo’s family has said she was trying to leave a violent relationship with Lee before she died.
As news of Lee’s capture emerged Tuesday morning, loved ones expressed relief and joy at the recovery of Bravo’s children.
“My business partner, Rob Brown, texted me and said, ‘They found the kids and they’re alive,’ ” Carnette Burnett, educational director at the Mixed Institute of Cosmetology & Barber, said in a phone interview. “It’s buzzing over here. Everyone’s screaming. I’m still having chills.”
Burnett said Bravo studied at the Mixed Institute, later attended another beauty college and eventually returned to teach there. In the days before her death, Burnett said Bravo did not report to work and sent her a text message saying she had COVID-19 and would not be coming in.
“That was one of the last things we heard from her,” Burnett said.
The Mixed Institute held a vigil after learning of Bravo’s death. Each year, the school also hosts a backpack giveaway in her honor. In 2025, the school distributed 874 backpacks in Bravo’s memory, each decorated with a pair of angel wings.
“Angelica, Ms. Angel, she was an inspiration to everybody who walked through that door,” Burnett said. “She was excited about the education she received here and she said she wanted to pass that forward.”
“We still miss her. We still have her angel wings up for her,” Burnett added.
The FBI and Sacramento police offered up to $50,000 in combined rewards for information leading to Lee’s arrest and conviction, and the recovery of the children.
“A single tip brought a fugitive to justice for his alleged crime and reunited a family,” FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said in a statement. “We are grateful for the trust Angelica Bravo’s family placed in law enforcement and the confidence the tipster placed in the FBI. This apprehension reflects the FBI’s strong partnership with domestic and international law enforcement to ensure fugitives have nowhere to hide.”
The FBI, DA’s Office and Sacramento police credited the assistance of the Mexico Office of the Attorney General, Mexico’s National Institute of Immigration, elements of the Mexican military, the FBI’s legal attaché office in Mexico City, American Citizen Services, the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs in helping to capture Lee, who is expected to be transferred into Sacramento County Main Jail custody in the coming days.
The Bee’s Reeti Malhotra contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
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