20/20 Investigates the Double Life of Jorge Rueda Landeros

To the outside world, he was charming, intelligent, and ambitious, the kind of man friends trusted, and partners believed in. But behind the polished persona of “Mr. Right” was a far more dangerous reality, one that would ultimately turn him into one of the most wanted fugitives in an international manhunt.

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An all-new episode of 20/20, titled The Hunt for Mr. Right, pulls back the curtain on the chilling double life of Jorge Rueda Landeros, a self-proclaimed financial guru whose romance with an American University accounting professor ended in tragedy.
Airing Friday, January 16, on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, the two-hour investigation follows correspondent John Quiñones as he retraces the steps of a suspect who vanished across borders, reinvented himself under an alias, and evaded justice for years before finally being brought to trial.
The case began in 2010, when 52-year-old Sue Marcum was found dead at the bottom of the stairs inside her upscale Bethesda, Maryland home. What initially appeared to be a possible burglary quickly unraveled into something far more sinister.
Medical examiners ruled Marcum’s death a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma and asphyxiation, and DNA evidence discovered beneath her fingernails pointed to a violent struggle.
Investigators soon zeroed in on Landeros, Marcum’s former boyfriend, who had lost large sums of money she invested with him, and who also stood to benefit from a $500,000 life insurance policy in her name.
Before authorities could close in, Landeros vanished, fleeing first to Juárez, Mexico, and later to Guadalajara, where he assumed a new identity, living quietly as a yoga teacher and poet while hiding in plain sight.
In The Hunt for Mr. Right, Quiñones travels from Maryland to Mexico, uncovering how Landeros managed to build an entirely new life while remaining one step ahead of law enforcement.
The episode features exclusive interviews with Marcum’s family, including her brother and sister-in-law, as well as friends who played critical roles in the investigation. Viewers also hear directly from the detectives and prosecutors whose persistence and key DNA evidence collected at the border ultimately led to Landeros’ capture, extradition, and trial.
Adding further depth, journalists who interviewed Landeros while he was on the run share what he revealed during his years in hiding, while people he befriended under an alias in Guadalajara speak out for the first time, shocked to learn they had unknowingly formed friendships with a man accused of murder.
As 20/20 revisits the case that gripped headlines and followed Landeros’ path from trusted partner to international fugitive, the episode examines how deception, greed, and betrayal can hide behind even the most convincing façade and how justice, though delayed, ultimately caught up with “Mr. Right.”

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From Mr. Right to Most Wanted: Inside the International Manhunt Uncovered by "20/20"

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