Authorities called the suspected killer a ‘master of disguise’ for changing his appearance while on the lam for a year and a half.
A manhunt ended for a murder suspect police called a “master of disguise,” because he changed his appearance while on the run from unrelated cases. Authorities say Tyler Adams is a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend, and the victim’s father just so happened to be at the scene during the arrest.
David Sabean was getting lunch after a bike ride in Newport Beach, California when he witnessed the FBI arrest. “I heard a police officer say, ‘Get out of the car, put your hands up or I will shoot you,’” Sabean says.
Something about the suspect looked familiar to Sabean.
“He had on a yellow shirt, white pants, white shoes. And I looked and I said, ‘That looks like the guy that killed my daughter,” Sabean says.
Sabean’s daughter, Racquel, was found slain in 2022 in Tijuana, Mexico. Mexican officials suspect Adams, her boyfriend, could be the killer. An hour after witnessing the arrest Sabean says he received a call from an FBI agent.
“The FBI called me and they said, ‘We want to tell you that Tyler Adams has been apprehended.’ And I said, ‘Where?’” Sabean says. “They said, ‘Newport Beach.’ And I said, ‘Oh my God. I saw the whole thing.’”
The FBI had been searching for Adams since 2019 when he escaped from prison in Hawaii.
“He changed appearances a lot. He would dye his hair black. Then he would dye it blonde and he would change the way he combed it,” Sabean says.
William McNamara of the San Diego FBI office said that people on the run change their appearances to avoid getting caught.
“This is the nature of the fugitive game, McNamara says. People have committed a crime, they’re on the run. They don’t want to be caught, and they want to evade detection.”
Sabean tells Inside Edition that Adams should get life in prison.
“That’s what should happen because he’s a career criminal. He’s committed other crimes. Now it’s murder, and he should do life,” Sabean says.
The suspect has not been charged with murder. Authorities say they are now working with investigators in Mexico.
