SHE WAS FOUND BESIDE HER CAR — THEN POLICE UNCOVERED A CHILLING CONNECTION

A quiet trail area in Great Falls, Virginia, has become the scene of a disturbing homicide investigation after a 42-year-old mother was found dead beside her car.

Her name was Carmen Lizet Puch.

She was a mother to a 3-year-old daughter and was described by police as a loving mother.

On the morning of August 17, a jogger discovered Puch lying near her 2011 Honda Civic in a parking area at Difficult Run Park.

She had suffered multiple stab wounds.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

THEN INVESTIGATORS FOUND A CONNECTION

Within roughly 48 hours, detectives identified 19-year-old Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos as a suspect.

Police say Cedillos-Campos and Puch worked together at the same restaurant in Herndon.

But investigators soon discovered their relationship went beyond the workplace.

According to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis, the two had been involved in an “intimate relationship.”

That discovery became a crucial part of the investigation.

POLICE ALLEGE THE ATTACK WAS PREPARED

Investigators say surveillance footage from the restaurant showed Cedillos-Campos taking a fixed-blade knife, latex gloves and a water bottle before leaving.

Police allege he later siphoned gasoline from a motorcycle and placed it in the bottle.

Detectives believe he then went with Puch to the Difficult Run area.

There, police allege, Puch was repeatedly stabbed.

Authorities further allege that gasoline was poured over her body and that an attempt was made to set it on fire — but the attempt was unsuccessful.

Police Chief Davis described the killing as highly deliberate and said investigators are still working to understand the complete motive.

A MOTHER LEFT BEHIND A THREE-YEAR-OLD

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the case is what remains after Puch’s death.

Her 3-year-old daughter is now being cared for by members of Puch’s family.

Coworkers have also spoken about their shock following the killing.

A woman who went to work that day.

A mother who had a young child waiting for her.

And a routine relationship between coworkers that investigators now say ended in a fatal confrontation.

THE QUESTIONS ARE FAR FROM OVER

Cedillos-Campos was arrested in Maryland and faces a second-degree murder charge, according to local reporting. He is awaiting extradition to Virginia.

Police are still investigating the motive and are looking for additional witnesses, surveillance footage and information that could help reconstruct what happened.

And investigators are asking a critical question:

What happened between two coworkers before that final trip to the trail?

Carmen Puch’s family is now left with a child growing up without her mother.

And detectives are still working to understand the events that led to a 42-year-old woman’s death in a quiet Virginia park.

One workplace connection.

One fatal meeting.

One mother who never came home.

Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos is accused of the killing and remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.