Israel Mireles Extradited: Suspected Killer Of Emily Sander, Internet Porn Model Zoey Zane

EL DORADO, KAN. — A man suspected of killing a Kansas college student who led a secret life as an Internet porn model is being held on a $3 million bond in Kansas following his extradition from Mexico.

Israel Mireles, 26, made his first court appearance Friday before Butler County District Judge David Ricke in El Dorado.

Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield asked the judge to raise Mireles bond to $3 million, noting he had fled to Mexico after the Sander's murder.

Satterfield also told the court that while Mireles was in jail in Mexico City, he told a friend he had planned an escape by faking a serious illness and then escaping when he was taken to a hospital.

Mireles was extradited back from Mexico Thursday by U.S. Marshals. He is charged with capital murder, rape and aggravated criminal sodomy in the 2007 death of 18-year-old Emily Sander.

His preliminary hearing was set for July 8, though prosecutors said that date would likely be continued. Mireles said he planned to hire his own lawyer, but the judge for now appointed the Death Penalty Defense Unit in Topeka to handle his case.

Ron Evans, an attorney with the Death Penalty Defense Unit, said he had not seen the paperwork yet and did not know which attorney would be handling the case. He declined to comment.

The disappearance of the Butler Community College student drew nationwide attention after the discovery that she also was an Internet pornography model who went by the name Zoey Zane.

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Sander was last seen alive on Nov. 23 as she left an El Dorado bar with a man police have identified as Mireles.

Police found a large amount of blood in his motel room, prompting the search for Sander. Her body was found six days later, about 50 miles east of El Dorado.

Searchers found the body after tracing the route they believed Mireles took to pick up his then-pregnant, 16-year-old girlfriend at her grandmother's house in Baxter Springs before fleeing to Mexico.

Mireles was arrested in December 2007 at the home of a relative in Melchor Muzquiz, Mexico, and had fought his extradition to the United States.

Prosecutors had to promise Mexican authorities they would not seek the death penalty for Mireles in order for Mexican authorities to approve the extradition. If convicted of capital murder, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Information from: The Wichita Eagle, http://www.kansas.com

Comments

[jweider]

This 26 year old man fled to Mexico with his pregnant 16 year old girlfriend. Why wasn't he arrested on child molestation charges before any of this happened?
And shouldn't his family members who helped him flee to Mexico be charged as accomplice's?

[chevyval]

No woman needs this kind of job.

[Palemoon]

I think it's unfair how this young woman is being characterized. It's almost as bad as the O'Reilly mentality of saying "Sure, she was murdered, but she was a PORN STAR!"

Totally irresponsible journalism in my opinion. And after some investigation, the fact are, she was NOT a porn star, nor involved in the porn industry at all. What she was doing is known in the community as "centerfold modeling".

Plus, her website didn't go up until September 25, 2007. Which was 3 months prior to her body being found. I think she deserves some respect in that she was just a fragile young girl trying to pay her way through college. Also, consider the fact that Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has done more nude modelling than Emily Irene Sander, yet I don't see anyone calling Carla Bruni-Sarkozy an "internet pornstar" because of how Carla's nude photos are all over the internet.

[Tekd]

While her photos were of an adult oriented nature I don't see how this is relevant at all to her death. And classifying her as a porn star is both somewhat unfair since it suggests much seedier stuff and is also entirely unnecessary since it has absolutely nothing to do with her death. It's not as if a crazed fan stalked her down. Since she was also a college student why isn't it "college student" emily sander?

Sensationalistic nonsense.

[helenwheels]

Well said and thank you.

[tbirdalum]

Palemoon, I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks.

[Okieborn]

This young lady reminds me of the movie from many years past !!
The Movie was The Bad Seed !!

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

You know next-to-nothing about his woman..... As for Mireles, it is almost a certainty that he is an ILLEGAL ALIEN, who like thousands of others, course back and forth across the U.S.-Mexican frontier committing THOUSANDS of violent and fatal crimes every year.....

DEPORT ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS from the U.S. and Europe!!!

[sonnybrakes]

Its a curse to be young and beautiful in the internet age.

[jweider]

She left the bar with this guy and was later found dead.
What does being an internet porn model have to do with any of this?

[jweider]

According to the Wichita Eagle, his family members helped him flee to Mexico. I would like to know if his family members are being tried as accomplices.

[Poorsarah]

Okay, so this wacko didn't like porn...that's fine...then don't look at it, but don't exact vengeance on the gal...two wrongs do not make it right.

[csmcmillion]

She was a real cutie. What a waste.

[lionzion]

Parents watch after your daughters. Seriously! And I think the Computer should not be in their rooms cause u will find things more troubling than whats on tv..

[SparkyAdams]

Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be pr0n stars.

[nolabels]

Better warning to give fathers.

[dongarb]

I think life in prison with no parole would work out better for him.

[askmeificare]

Better for him, but not for the taxpayers.

[Deli]

So leaving a bar with a stranger remains more dangerous than engaging in internet porn. Also, funny that Mexico refused to extradite w/o promise of no death penalty when another headline above screams: "Shootout in Mexico Kills 12".

[zeotrope]

Unlike the government in the US both Canada's and Mexico's do not murder their own citizens, or anyone else's. Neither country will send someone to be murdered.

[JoshAus]

I'm not a fan of the death penalty but it's certainly not murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of a person. The death penalty is by it's very nature the legal killing of someone.

The use of the word murder is purely designed to be emotive.

[mapleaforever]

Ditto.

[sparkey]

Since it's Kansas, all he has to do is tell the jury that he asked God to forgive him and God did forgive him. The jury will then set him free since God forgave him of his crime.

[hmsbeagle]

yes of course that makes perfect sense amen.

[rmutt1917]

If it were California, all he'd have to do is struggle to put on a glove. Tell me, which is the more stringent legal system?

[mapleaforever]

Jackie Chiles says "if the glove don't fit, you must acquit".

[macweenie]

I'd agree except that it's Kansas, and he's Mexican. Whether he is a citizen here or not is irrelevant, in Kansas he's Mexican.

[JessWonderin]

. . . providing he can show a RNC Membership Card.

[113]

lol..religious people...all you can do is shake your head.

[hidenout]

This is why there is a death penalty.

[113]

this is why there is life in prison without the possibility for parole...death penalty is just as barbaric as the heinous crimes committed. Two wrongs don't make a right...death penalty is just sadistic bloodlust.

[hmsbeagle]

I profoundly disagree with the death penalty.

[Gregor53]

Agreed. Life behind bars would be terrible.

[PopulistPagan]

Let me begin by saying that I am true blue Liberal and proud of it.

However, some people need to die, not all life is precious. What good is life without parole for anyone? For the public paying for it, its a heavy cost (I know executions arent cheap either). For the victims family he will always be a reminder of their daughters death. For him its a long continued torturous existence, not that he doesnt deserve it.

I know its all shades of grey, steps need to be taken to ensure to the best of our ability we use only in cases of obvious guilt of a capital offence resulting in the death of another. If someones right to life is taken, the one who took it should lose theirs as well.

I also feel that there is a need for vengence and retribution , barbaric it may be, and who are we to deny the victims their due?

[Ri Miller]

I have a feeling you've never been around inmates....

[hidenout]

Not in certain instances, and this is one of them.

[SteveStephens]

Nice Guy.