Background: A man alleged to be Jossimar Cabrera dragging something large wrapped in a piece of material in the 500 block of Lancaster Boulevard in Lancaster, California, on Aug. 10, 2025 (KTTV/YouTube). Inset: Sheylla Cabrera (Facebook).
A man is believed to have murdered his wife and dumped her body in a national forest before fleeing to another country with their three young sons, authorities say.
Sheylla Cabrera, 33, was reported missing on Aug. 12. But investigators believe she was killed by her husband – 36-year-old Jossimar Cabrera – days before. When going over surveillance footage in the 500 block of Lancaster Boulevard in Lancaster, California, they found notable video from early Aug. 10.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff”s Department said its investigators in the area saw footage of the “missing person’s husband dragging a large object in a large piece of material from the apartment complex in the 500 block of Lancaster Boulevard, where the missing person, her husband, and three young sons lived.”
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The doorbell video – obtained by local outlets such as Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV – shows a man apparently dragging something heavy in the walkway between buildings. Authorities reportedly went to speak with the husband and found that he was gone from the couple’s apartment – along with their three young sons, ages 9, 6 and 4.
Deputies “suspected foul play may have been involved” in Sheylla Cabrera’s disappearance, and homicide detectives began investigating. “The investigators were informed that the person of interest had already fled from the United States,” the sheriff’s office said, referring to Jossimar Cabrera, and noting that they coordinated with authorities in Mexico and Peru – with the latter country being where the couple was from.
Additional evidence led authorities on Aug. 13 to call in several search and rescue teams to look around the Angeles National Forest. Three days later, they received a call.
One of the search and rescue teams said they spotted an object similar to the one captured on the doorbell camera over the side of an embankment. “The investigator responded to the scene, and it was discovered that the material contained the body of Sheylla Cabrera, who was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the sheriff’s office said on Tuesday, adding that an official cause of death would be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The same day Sheylla Cabrera’s body was found, Peruvian authorities alerted their counterparts in Los Angeles County with their own bit of news: the three children had been found safe and taken into protective custody.
Still, as of Tuesday, charges were not filed against Jossimar Cabrera — reportedly restricting Peruvian authorities from holding him. While video shared with CW affiliate KTLA appears to show authorities in the South American country detaining him, he was reportedly released.
Also on Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said the case would be brought to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for prosecutors to consider filing murder charges against Jossimar Cabrera “and obtaining the necessary documents to secure his return to the United States.”
“Jossimar Cabrera is currently believed to be in Peru, pending further investigation needed to bring him to justice,” they added.
According to Sheylla Cabrera’s mother, her daughter had reported her husband for domestic violence in Peru and told her mom the last time they spoke she was going to file a report in California, per KABC in Los Angeles. It is unclear how long they had been in the U.S.
Jossimar Cabrera reportedly changed his story about what happened to his wife several times – first saying she was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), then that she went off with another man, and finally that she had an accident.
A memorial was held for Sheylla Cabrera on Tuesday, with friends gathering at her apartment. Her children are said to be staying with their grandmother in Peru.
