OC multi-millionaire wanted for murder stayed in lavish hotels before his capture in Mexico

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- New details were released at a news conference Tuesday in the capture of a Newport Beach multi-millionaire in Mexico wanted for the 2012 murder of his wife. The capture ended a four-year manhunt.

United States Marshals Service announced 54-year-old Peter Chadwick had been taken into custody near Puebla, Mexico in a residential duplex on Sunday night where they believed he had been hiding.

Chadwick has been wanted since Jan. 2015 when he failed to appear for a court hearing accused of murdering his wife Quee Chadwick. He left the United States with a large amount of cash and had been staying in luxury, high-end hotels and resorts in Mexico, according Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis. Chadwick was no longer able to stay at hotels when they began requiring passport identification and he could not provide one, Lewis said.

Chadwick is accused of killing Quee back in their Newport Beach home during an argument about a possible divorce. He is accused of wrapping her body in a comforter and throwing her body in a dumpster in San Diego County.

He was arrested after he told San Diego Police a handyman had killed his wife and kidnapped him, driving him down to San Diego. He was later released on bail when he went missing.

There was a major media push, including a pod cast launched by Newport Beach Police in 2018.

He was added to the U.S. Marshals' 15-most-wanted fugitive list in 2018. Police said they received thousands of tips including recent information that led them to Mexico. Authorities say Chadwick had taken out a large amount of cash, had been moving around, and using a number of aliases.

Arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday. The Orange County District Attorney's office considers him a flight risk and are expected to ask the judge that bail not be granted.