PRYOR, Okla. — A man wanted in a nearly 20-year-old murder case is now one of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s most wanted fugitives.

The Attorney General’s Office partnered with U.S. Marshals, and state, local, and county law enforcement to make the list.

Now, Pryor Police hope it will be a step toward finally getting their suspect behind bars.

FOX23 sat down with one of the lead detectives on the case.

Former Assistant Chief of Police Derek Melton was a detective working this case almost 20 years ago, but images of that day are still with him.

He hopes with this list, justice can finally be served.

“You don’t forget the big picture. You don’t forget the family you’ve interviewed in tears. You don’t forget the father weeping over his daughter’s death and you don’t forget finding a young lady brutally murdered in a home in your community,” Melton said.

On October 23, 2004, on a quiet street nestled in Pryor Creek, Pryor police responded to an unthinkable tragedy.

“I went into the house and found the young lady. She had deceased. You know, we checked for a pulse and there was none. In fact, she had been gone for a while,” Melton said.

Police said Alfonso Mondragon brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend, Shelley Huffman.

Witnesses said he was abusive throughout their relationship.

“Mondragon had bludgeoned her in her head and killed her. There was blood and so he had tried to flee the scene, but before he did that, he changed into clean clothes. But he didn’t know what to do with the bloody clothes so he threw them in the attic,” Melton said.

Melton was the one who found those clothes, but Mondragon himself was never found.

Melton and other investigators believe that he fled to Mexico and possibly the Mexico City area.

Now, all these years later, Melton said he’s hopeful about seeing Mondragon’s name on the Attorney General’s new most wanted list.

“I’m thankful that this case is not in a file somewhere, in lull, but there’s some activity. There’s some labor, there’s some thought being put in to apprehending this guy and bringing him to justice,” Melton said.

Melton said that justice as well as closure need to be brought to the family, the community, and the detectives who worked the case.

“Maybe, just maybe we can get some light shined on this and figure out where Mondragon’s at, get him located, get him arrested and get him locked up. That’s where he belongs. He’s an animal. He needs to be locked up. He’s a violent animal. I just hope he doesn’t do this again to some other innocent,” Melton said.

The Attorney General’s Office is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading directly to his arrest.

If you have any information about the whereabouts of Mondragon or any information that could lead to his arrest, you can email the Attorney General’s tip line at OKMostWanted@oag.ok.gov.

To look at the Attorney General’s Most Wanted list, click here.