CA Serial Sexual Assault Suspect And Killer Arrested In Alaska: Police

VISALIA, CA — Detectives flew to Alaska to arrest a Visalia man who is accused of five incidents of sexual battery against women, including one victim who later died from her injuries, police announced this week.

Visalia Police Department detectives said they identified Adrian Hernandez Medrano, 20, as the suspect responsible for the series of sexual batteries from 2023 and 2025 and a homicide in June.

In the summer of 2023, police said they began investigating two separate sexual battery cases where the suspect in both cases shared a similar description and pattern of behavior.

Due to the serious nature of these crimes, the Violent Crimes Unit was assigned to the case.

On the evening of June 21, 2025 there were three additional sexual battery incidents near the Oval Park area in Visalia, police said. One of the victims, who was physically assaulted during the attack later died from her injuries, police said.

ABC30 identified her as 57-year-old Margarita Verduzco, a grandmother suffering from kidney failure, who had just left the hospital before she was sexually assaulted at a bus stop. She died 10 days later.

The suspect's description and method matched the 2023 cases, police said, and search warrants were executed in Visalia to locate Medrano and gather evidence.

Police said during the investigation, detectives learned that Medrano had fled the state and was believed to be in Alaska.

Last week, VPD detectives said they traveled to the Kenai area in Alaska, where they found Medrano and arrested him with help from Alaska State Troopers.

Police said they booked Medrano into the county jail in Alaska and he is currently waiting extradition back to Tulare County.

Medrano faces multiple charges linked to sexual battery and one count of homicide, police said.

Verduzco's family celebrated the arrest as they continued to grieve her brutal death.

"I don't have any words for him, I have no words for him. But I will be there for every court date and I will see the end date until he is sentenced because she didn't deserve that," Monica Avila, Verduzco's daughter told ABC.