PHOENIX - Krystal Mitchell is a picture of happiness. The pretty and fit 30-year-old, mother of two, loved her babies and simply loved life.
"She loved the sun. So she left a cold wet Washington State to come out here to Phoenix," said Josephine Wentzel, Krystal's mother. "She loved the Lord. And she was looking for the perfect partner to raise her children."
Wentzel thought Krystal might have found that partner in Raymond McLeod. He's a former Marine, who was also a father.
"He came across as charming," Wentzel said. And the fact that he had a 7-year-old son like she had -- she thought wow.
The relationship was going so well, the two decided to take a trip to San Diego together in June of 2016. But something went wrong. And Josephine knew it.
"I was checking up on her that day.," Wentzel told 12 News. She wasn't answering her texts. And so I knew something was wrong. It's in a mothers heart that something was wrong with my daughter."
Something was wrong -- horribly wrong. And San Diego Police knew it the moment they entered an apartment complex and found a Krystal Mitchell's body lifeless inside.
Then Wentzel received the call that every mother dreads.
"Sure enough, it was a message and they said, your daughter is in the morgue."
Police immediately zeroed in on a prime suspect -- Krystal's boyfriend -- Raymond McLeod. But they couldn't find him. They think he fled to Mexico, then maybe Belize.
"That's why I made this special trip here (to Phoenix)," Wentzel said. "Because Krystal loved Phoenix and I know that somebody or some people here in Phoenix, know exactly where this man is."
Josephine knows finding him won't bring her daughter back, but it will bring her and her grandchildren closure and justice.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to McLeod's arrest. If you know where he is, you're asked to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS. You can remain anonymous.