The 19-year-old man charged with murdering Reston resident Carmen Lizet Puch gave a full confession to Fairfax County homicide detectives and was captured on restaurant surveillance video arming himself with a knife, gloves and a gasoline-filled bottle before the killing, Police Chief Kevin Davis said at an Aug. 19 press conference.

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos faces a second-degree murder charge in Puch's death, but Davis said first-degree or aggravated murder charges remain possible as detectives and prosecutors with the Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office review the evidence.

"It certainly sounds premeditated to me," Davis said.

As we reported Aug. 19, Cedillos-Campos was arrested that morning in Lanham, Maryland, after the FCPD's Fugitive Tracking and Apprehension Team coordinated with Prince George's County police and the U.S. Marshals Service. He is being held at the Prince George's County jail awaiting extradition to Fairfax County.

Surveillance video shows planning

According to FFXnow, restaurant surveillance video showed Cedillos-Campos taking a large fixed-blade knife, a pair of black latex gloves and a water bottle from the kitchen early on the morning of Monday, Aug. 17. Police say he then emptied the water bottle and filled it with gasoline siphoned from his motorcycle.

FCPD Assistant Chief of Investigations Rachel Levy said investigators believe Cedillos-Campos took those items before setting out to kill Puch, according to Patch.

Police say Cedillos-Campos left the restaurant for a planned meeting with Puch at Difficult Run Park in the 8800 block of Georgetown Pike in Great Falls. Puch, 42, was found by a jogger at 6:43 a.m. lying outside her 2011 Honda Civic with stab wounds to her upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Davis said Puch appears to have been sitting in the driver's seat when she was stabbed. After the stabbing, Cedillos-Campos doused her in gasoline and attempted to set her on fire, but the attempt failed.

Confession and relationship

While being interviewed by detectives at the same time as the press conference, Cedillos-Campos offered "a full confession for what transpired," Davis said.

Police determined that Cedillos-Campos and Puch worked together at the same restaurant and had been in what Davis described as an "intimate relationship." News outlets including NBC Washington identified the workplace as Bitez, a Halal-focused restaurant in Herndon.

"We are still uncovering the many layers of motive that exists when two people are involved in a relationship, and where another relationship may exist as well," Davis said at the press conference.

Victim leaves 3-year-old daughter

Puch was the mother of a 3-year-old daughter. Family members traveled from New Jersey to care for the child after the killing. Cedillos-Campos is not the child's biological father, police said.

Abdul Anwari, owner of Bitez, told NBC Washington that the killing was difficult to process. He said the restaurant set up a GoFundMe for Puch's family, with proceeds going to her daughter.

Immigration status

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleged that Cedillos-Campos is from El Salvador and entered the country illegally near El Paso, Texas, in April 2024 before being released by Customs and Border Protection, according to WJLA. Davis declined to comment on Cedillos-Campos's immigration status at the press conference.

Police are also investigating whether a black sedan seen on surveillance footage on Georgetown Pike around the time of the killing has any connection to the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FCPD Major Crimes Bureau at 866-411-8477 or through Crime Solvers at crimesolversfairfax.org.