In the span of a few weeks, an 18-year-old’s attempt to build a new life turned into a cross-country homicide case that now has a man in custody. Investigators say Arizona teen Yessenia Norman met a man on a dating app, vanished after leaving the supervised housing where she lived, and was later found dead in a Tolleson apartment. The man she allegedly met, 27-year-old Randal Basilio Santillan, is now under arrest in another state and facing serious charges tied to her killing.
Norman’s death has rattled families who see their own kids in her story: a young woman trying to move forward, using the same apps and tools that define modern dating. It has also raised hard questions about how quickly online connections can turn dangerous, and what safety nets exist for teens in transitional programs when something goes very wrong.
From dating app match to missing person
Before anyone knew her name from headlines, Yessenia Norman was an 18-year-old in Arizona working through the slow, everyday process of getting stable. She was living in a transitional facility in Arizona, a setup meant to give young people structure while they transition out of state oversight. According to investigators, she allegedly connected with a man named Randal Santillan through a dating app, a detail that now sits at the center of the criminal case.
Staff at the facility reported that Norman did not come back when she was supposed to, and she was officially listed as missing on Jan. That missing person report kicked off what loved ones described as an agonizing search, with family and staff trying to retrace her steps and figure out who she had been talking to. The early focus on her online connection with Santillan came from those close to her, who told investigators that the man from the app was one of the last people she was believed to have met up with in person.
Discovery in Tolleson and a brutal crime scene
The search for Norman ended in Tolleson, a small city on the western edge of the Phoenix metro area, where police were called to an apartment complex after someone reported a “possible deceased person.” Officers arrived at the complex near Interstate 10 and 91st Avenue, where they found the teen’s body inside a unit that investigators say was tied to Santillan. The discovery confirmed the worst fears of her family and the staff who had been hoping she would simply walk back through the facility doors.
The details that have since come out about the attack are harrowing. A medical examiner determined that Yessenia Norman had been stabbed 27 times, a level of violence that immediately pushed detectives to treat the case as a homicide with a likely personal connection. The apartment itself, located in Tolleson, quickly became the center of a forensic sweep, with investigators collecting physical evidence and digital records to map out who had been there and when.
The suspect’s flight and arrest in Mississippi
By the time Norman’s body was found, the man police were looking at as a suspect was already gone. Detectives say the “Man” they believe killed the teen had left Tolleson and headed across the country. Authorities tracked 27-year-old Randal Basilio Santillan to the Gulf Coast, where he was eventually located in Biloxi. The distance between the Phoenix area and the Mississippi coast is roughly 1,600 m, a span that underscores how far he allegedly tried to run before officers caught up with him.
On Friday, local law enforcement in Biloxi arrested Santillan on a warrant tied to Norman’s killing, taking him into custody at a local facility while he awaits extradition back to Arizona. Reports describe him as an “Arizona man wanted for deadly stabbing and kidnapping,” language that reflects the slate of accusations he now faces. Another account notes that the Suspect was picked up after coordination between agencies in Mississippi and Arizona, a reminder that homicide cases do not stop at state lines.
Charges, extradition and what investigators say happened
Back in the Phoenix area, prosecutors have moved quickly to spell out the case they intend to bring. Court records cited by local outlets say Santillan is facing counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping, charges that reflect both the violence of the attack and the allegation that Norman was held against her will. Officials have said that Officers in Arizona are now working through the extradition process so he can be brought back to face those charges in person.
Investigators have also filled in more of the timeline between Norman leaving her transitional housing and the discovery of her body. They say she met up with Santillan after connecting on a dating app, and that he was a tenant at the Tolleson apartment where she was later found, a detail highlighted in NEED and KNOW summaries of the case. Another report notes that Authorities in Mississippi were acting on information from Arizona detectives when they moved in to arrest him, suggesting that digital evidence and travel records played a role in tracking his movements.
A teen in transition and the bigger safety conversation
Norman’s story is not only about a crime scene and an arrest, it is also about a teenager trying to rebuild her life under state supervision. She was living in a facility connected to the Arizona Department of Child Safety, a system that steps in when young people cannot safely live at home. Staff there are used to teens testing boundaries, but they are also tasked with keeping them safe, which is why her failure to return triggered such an urgent response. One account notes that the facility where she lived declined to answer detailed questions about its policies, citing privacy and the ongoing investigation.
Her death has also sharpened the focus on how dating apps intersect with vulnerable users. Reports say Following her death, Santillan allegedly deleted his profile and tried to wipe traces of their connection, a move that investigators now see as part of an attempted cover-up. Another summary of the case, labeled Connection, points out that the same tools that make it easy to meet someone new can also make it easy for a predator to hide, at least temporarily, behind a screen name and a few swipes.
More from Decluttering Mom: