Fugitive US hijacker caught in Portugal

That changed last week, when details started falling into place with the help of authorities there.

"They have a national ID registry," Schroeder said. "They pulled that. That confirmed his print matched the prints with the DOC. The sketch matched the picture on his ID card."

By the weekend, U.S. authorities were on a plane to Portugal. And Monday, Portuguese police staking out Wright's home found him.

Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said Wright was arrested for purposes of extradition on the New Jersey homicide charge. He would serve the remainder of his sentence if returned to the U.S., she said.

Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in Trenton, N.J., Pete Yost in Washington and Karen Zraick in New York, and Associated Press News researchers Rhonda Shafner, Barbara Sambriski and Judith Ausuebel in New York contributed to this report.

Follow Samantha Henry at http://www.twitter.com/SamanthaHenry.