Turkish Authorities Detain L.A. Man Sought in Double Slaying

A 49-year-old Los Angeles man wanted on suspicion of killing his brother-in-law and mother-in-law and shooting his estranged wife in the Jefferson Park area last week has been captured in Turkey after arriving on a flight from Mexico, officials said Tuesday.

Turkish authorities detained Fraydun Ahmad Kordian, an Iraqi national with a history of domestic violence, on Friday after Los Angeles police notified them of the murder warrant in connection with the shootings two days before, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez said.

According to Lopez, Kordian went to his mother-in-law’s home in the 3700 block of Ruthelen Street, where his estranged wife was staying, and allegedly shot his wife, her brother and her mother. The wife survived but remains hospitalized.

Fernando Lomeli, 22, died at the scene. Zenaida Barrigan, 58, succumbed to her injuries Saturday.

Kordian was captured after he used his own name on the international flight from Mexico City via Madrid to Istanbul, Lopez said. The Los Angeles Police Department had notified international policing agencies that Kordian was a suspect in the slayings.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is now seeking to extradite Kordian, Lopez said.

Kordian, according to authorities, was put on probation for domestic violence in 2002. In early October, his estranged wife obtained a restraining order against him, officials said.