Sheriff’s homicide investigators said Tuesday they were trying to track down a 36-year-old man believed to have fled to Peru after he was seen on camera dragging what turned out to be his wife’s body from their Lancaster apartment.
Sheylla Cabrera, 33, was the subject of a missing person report made to the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lancaster Station on Aug. 12.
“During Lancaster Station’s follow-up investigation on Aug. 13, 2025, they discovered additional video surveillance of the missing person’s husband dragging a large object in a large piece of material from the apartment complex in the 500 block of Lancaster Boulevard, where the missing person, her husband, and three young sons lived,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.
“Based on their additional information, they suspected foul play may have been involved with the missing person and notified the (Sheriff’s) Homicide Bureau. Homicide investigators responded to the scene and started conducting their investigation, which is currently ongoing,” the statement said.
Cabrera’s three children were also initially reported as missing, but have turned up in Peru, authorities said.
The Crescenta Valley, Altadena and Montrose Mountain Search and Rescue teams had been contacted and immediately started searching large areas of the Angeles National Forest, according to the sheriff’s department.
“The investigators also worked in conjunction with the Mexican General Consulate and the Peruvian General Consulate with alerts for the person of interest in this case, Jossimar Cabrera, a 36-year-old male,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Investigators later learned that Jossimar Cabrera had already fled the United States.
On Saturday, the children were located safe in Peru, where Jossimar Cabrera is believed to have fled.
“On the same day, investigators were contacted shortly after 10 a.m. by the Montrose Mountain Search and Rescue Team, who reported they had spotted an object similar to the material that was seen being taken away by the person of interest over the side of an embankment in the Angeles National Forest,” according to the sheriff’s department.
It was discovered that the material contained the body of Sheylla Cabrera, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her official cause of death remains under investigation by the county medical examiner’s office.
“This case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for their consideration of filing murder charges against Jossimar Cabrera and obtaining the necessary documents to secure his return to the United States,” the sheriff’s department said.