Suspect death confirmed

On Wednesday, March 30, the Hickory Police Department received confirmation that Javier Uresti, who was wanted for three counts of second degree murder, died in Mexico on July 1, 2020.

Uresti was the suspect in a 1997 DWI crash that killed Maria Self and her two daughters, Kathy Styles and Ruth Self, on Feb. 17, 1997. Self and her two daughters were crossing Tate Boulevard on Ninth Street Lane Southeast in a Geo Metro when they were hit by a 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Javier Uresti.

Investigators believe that Uresti fled to his hometown of San Luis Potosi in Mexico shortly after the incident. Hickory Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked together to search for Uresti for over 20 years.