Phoenix Police arrested two men in connection with the brutal murder of 17 year old aspiring 2016 Olympic boxing hopeful Alexis Urbina on Friday, November 8. Urbina was found unconscious on a floor in his South Phoenix home on September 3 and transported to Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix where he passed two days later as a result of severe trauma to his head which caused his brain to swell three times its’ normal size.
23 year old Joseph Jessie Corrales was the first suspect arrested and he told Channel 3 television reporter Karen Brown, at the Maricopa County Jail facility, that he had nothing to do with the murder, but he did concede that he drove another man named Robert Chavez to Urbina’s house and heard what sounded like fighting inside the home.
Corrales’s information led police to the arrest of Robert Chavez and both men were booked and will be arraigned on Saturday 11/9 at which time they will be asked to submit a plea. Corrales pleaded guilty to burglary charges in 2009 and it is known whether or not he knew the victim.
When contacted, the Urbina family expressed relief that the arrests were made. It is not known what led to the apprehension and arrest of the two suspects, but the Arizona boxing community was very active and vocal in pursuit of the killer(s).
The full identity of the second suspect should be released within the next 24 hours.
