Phoenix police on Tuesday arrested a man accused of fatally strangling a Black woman on a city bus last week. According to 12 News, the accused, identified as Joshua Bagley, was named as a person of interest in the killing of Diane Craig, and police announced they were searching for him.
The 41-year-old woman was unconscious when she was found on the bus. She was transported to the hospital with strangulation marks on the neck. But she later succumbed to her injuries. Doctors listed her cause of death as internal decapacitation.
Bagley, 26, has since been charged with one count of first-degree murder. His bond is set at $2 million. Authorities also said there was another felony warrant for the suspect’s arrest from Mohave County. That warrant was for unlawful means of transportation and criminal damage.
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Investigators said the bus picked both Bagley and Craig up at the South 22nd Avenue bus stop. The bus driver informed police that there were no other passengers on the bus beside the two, and they sat close to each other at the back. The driver said that he heard a noise coming from their direction, but he did not pay much attention to it.
The bus’ surveillance video captured the suspect strangling Craig and shoving her to the floor, 12 News reported. He was also seen wrapping straps from a bag around Craig’s neck before repeatedly turning the straps around.
The suspect police said matched Bagley’s description then went ahead to take items Craig had in her possession before he later alighted from the bus. Craig was unresponsive when the driver ultimately found her during a bus check.
“She definitely did not deserve this. Our family is hurting,” Craig’s cousin, Roshuanda Boss, said.
Police arrested Bagley after they got a tip. And though Bagley had shaved his head and facial hair at the time of his arrest, he told investigators that he looked like the suspect in the video. Prior to Bagley being taken into custody, Craig’s family, besides calling for justice, also appealed to the public to send tips that could lead to the suspect’s arrest.
Authorities said they discovered Bagley had been jailed at the Maricopa County Jail on May 1. He was, however, released on May 3. Bagley was also convicted of disorderly conduct and attempt to flee from law enforcement. But he was released after serving a year of his two-year sentence. That was in May last year.
