A domestic dispute turned deadly in Tulsa, Oklahoma, leading an illegal immigrant from Guatemala to strangle his wife while his children were at home. He later dumped her body near a highway, according to police.
Tulsa Police Department homicide detectives arrested 40-year-old Willie Ricardo Escobar on a charge of first-degree murder two days after the alleged homicide.
Tulsa police said Escobar confessed to strangling Karla Gramajo-Cabrera, 33, inside their home on Wednesday, April 8.
He told police he killed her after an argument in which she insulted him, and then he reportedly drove around with her body before dumping it and concealing it under a mattress. The couple had a history of domestic violence, police said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also lodged an immigration detainer against the accused killer, whom they identified as Willie Ricardo Merida‑Escobar, and shared his arrest on social media.
TULSA COUNTY, OK: Willie Ricardo Merida‑Escobar, an illegal alien from Guatemala, confessed to strangling his wife Karla Gramajo-Cabrera inside their home on April 8, after an argument in which she insulted him. He then dumped her body under a highway.
This monster NEVER should… pic.twitter.com/Jh2t7ARGZl
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 15, 2026
Merida‑Escobar illegally entered the United States in September 2016 under the Obama administration.
After failing to appear for scheduled immigration court in September 2023, he was issued a final order of removal, according to records from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“This monster should have never been in our country,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “ICE lodged an arrest detainer with our law enforcement partners in Tulsa County to ensure this sick individual is not released from custody.”
Police arrested Escobar on Friday, April 10 for his wife’s murder after her sister reported her missing. They brought Escobar in for questioning after surveilling their home and identifying him as a suspect.
“Detectives quickly identified concerning red flags, including a history of domestic violence and suspicious behavior by Escobar,” Tulsa police shared in a social media post.
Escobar allegedly put her body in a vehicle and drove around before hiding it off the side of the road near a local park, News On 6 Tulsa reported.
The couple’s 17-year-old son was reportedly asleep in another room at the time of the murder, and they had other young children at home, police said.
After Gramajo-Cabrera’s disappearance, detectives observed Escobar leave with the couple’s three young children and take them to a playground at a local mall before taking him into custody.
Using Escobar’s phone data, detectives located Gramajo-Cabrera on Friday night, hidden under a mattress, according to 6 News in Tulsa.
Escobar was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office operates a 287(g) Jail Enforcement Model program in partnership with ICE. The agreement has been in place since 2020, allowing TCSO deputies to place immigration detainers on foreign-born inmates suspected of being in the country illegally or with pending criminal charges.
DHS has said the 287(g) program improves public safety and 7 of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE.
“Partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country,” Bis said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are NOT welcome in the U.S.”
