Suspect Arrested in Teenage Woman’s Murder

The Chelan County Sheriff's Office announced they have arrested a suspect in the death of Hannia "Paulina" Mosqueda-Rodriguez.

Julius Ceballos, 21, of Wenatchee was booked into the Chelan County Regional Justice Center for 1st Degree Murder.

The investigation spanned 15 months after 18-year-old Mosqueda-Rodriguez went missing in November of 2019 and then was found dead in March of 2020 off of Horselake Road. Sheriff Brian Burnett said none of the recent rallies calling for an arrest of Mosqueda-Rodriguez's killer had an impact on the case.

"It takes time to do it right because the last thing you want to do is put together a poor investigation, or a halfway one at that." stated Burnett, "Even though you may have enough for probable cause to make an arrest, what you want to do is to be able to prove that in a court of law and to follow through with a successful prosecution to make sure you have a dangerous individual off our streets."

Although no motive has been announced, drugs and gang ties are related to the ongoing investigation. Tuesday's arrest was assisted by the U.S. Marshall's Office, regional SWAT and response teams, the Columbia River Drug Task Force and the Douglas County Sheriff's Detective units. A total of 21 search warrants have been served throughout the investigation.

Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call 509-667-6845 to leave a message.