Topeka ? A man charged in a triple murder in Kinsley in 1998 has been extradited from Mexico, Atty. Gen. Phill Kline said Saturday.

Martin Vasquez-Arroyo will face three counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, one count of felony theft and one count of misdemeanor theft in the deaths of his estranged wife, Robin Vasquez, her boyfriend and her father in December 1998.

The bodies of Robin Vasquez, Howard Franks and Thomas Dinkel were found Dec. 13, 1998, in Vasquez’s Kinsley home. Authorities believe all three had been shot in the head by Vasquez.

Former Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall had sought extradition in 1999.

Kline contacted the Bush administration and met at the White House with representatives of the Department of Justice and the State Department to facilitate the extradition from Mexico.

Mexico had refused extradition under a treaty with the United States, claiming that the length of Vasquez’s sentence if convicted amounted to the death penalty. Mexico will not extradite suspects if they face the death penalty in Kansas.

Kline and the United States insisted that the “hard 40” sentence that Vasquez faces is not a death sentence and, therefore, Mexico must extradite.

Kinsley is in Edwards County northeast of Dodge City.