Document text
Murder suspect on the lam found in Central Point By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Dec 24, 2022 03:05 PM A A Central Point police officers arrested a murder suspect Friday who had eluded Portland police for weeks, authorities said. Jose Antonia Caraballo, 43, was wanted as a suspect in the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Kathryn Muhlbach, 27. Muhlbach’s body was found in Powell Butte Nature Park on the afternoon of Dec. 9, according to a release from the Portland Police Bureau. Originally ruled a suspicious death, the crime was elevated to a homicide by the ruling of the medical examiner. Carabello was named as the prime suspect days later, but officers were unable to locate him, the release said. He has ties to Oregon, California and Mexico. Crimestoppers of Oregon issued a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information that could lead to Caraballo’s arrest. Central Point police officers found and arrested Caraballo on Friday on a warrant of murder in the second degree, domestic violence, authorities said. Caraballo was also charged with felony burglary in the first degree, with additional misdemeanor charges of menacing, interfering with a peace officer, parole or probation officer, theft in the first degree and criminal trespass in the first degree, according to Jackson County Jail records. He was booked in the Jackson County Jail Friday without bail and is scheduled to be transferred to the Multnomah County Jail at a later time. Court records indicate his only prior criminal past was failure to obey a traffic device in 2018 and driving a motor vehicle while operating a mobile electronic device this year.