GUILTY TX - Sheriff: U.S. border patrol agent suspected of killing 4 women, 15 Sept 2018

[EuTuCroquet?]

Sheriff: U.S. border patrol agent suspected of killing 4 women

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was arrested early Saturday on the suspicion that he killed four women and abducted a fifth, who escaped.

The agent, Juan David Ortiz, was captured after a woman whom he tried to abduct escaped, Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said at a news conference. Sheriff Martin Cuellar said Ortiz fled from state troopers and was found hiding in the parking lot of a hotel in Laredo, a border city about 145 miles southwest of San Antonio.

Alaniz said investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the killings, though he described Ortiz as a serial killer.

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson confirmed Ortiz is a supervisory Border Patrol agent.​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

The Latest: Arrested agent described as ‘serial killer’

LAREDO, TEXAS — The Latest on the arrest of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent suspected of killing several women (all times local):

3:20 p.m.

Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz is describing the U.S. Border Patrol agent suspected of killing four prostitutes as a "serial killer."

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[EuTuCroquet?]

Juan David Ortiz: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

According to the Webb County Sheriff’s Office, Ortiz has confessed to four homicides as of Saturday afternoon.

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Ortiz was a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol at the time of his arrest. He was a part of the Highway Interdiction team, whose role was to “observe vehicles traveling on IH-35 with the goal of intercepting vehicles engaged in narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, etc.,” according to the documents as seen above.​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Border agent suspected of being serial killer arrested in Laredo after 5th victim escapes | Crime | Dallas News

He's suspected of killing four women and abducting a fifth. Two of the victims were found earlier this month along Interstate 35 in rural northwest Webb County, the Laredo Morning Times reports.

The third and fourth were found this weekend in the same area.​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

BP agent named as suspect in slaying of four women

“We have probable cause to believe that he is responsible for this series of murders, which I would qualify as a serial murderer," said Isidro Alaniz, Webb County district attorney.

Alaniz said Ortiz is potentially facing four counts of murder and one count of aggravated kidnapping.

Law enforcement discovered a fourth body Saturday afternoon near mile marker 14 of Interstate 35. The third body was found Friday night in rural northwest Webb County. Their identities have not been released.

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The Rangers, in cooperation with the Sheriff's Office, launched an investigation after Melissa Ramirez, 29, a mother of two, was found slain on Sept. 4. Her body was found in the 300 block of Jefferies Road, near the intersection with Camino Colombia.

On Thursday, a 42-year-old woman, Claudine Anne Luera, was found fatally wounded off the roadway near mile marker 436 of Texas Highway 255, about ½ mile east of U.S. 83. This is close to where Ramirez's body was discovered. Paramedics rushed Luera to a local hospital in critical condition. She was later declared dead.

DPS has only said that Luera had head trauma.​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Related:

Woman found slain in northwest Webb County ID'd

News report from when MelissaRamirez’s body was discovered.

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[EuTuCroquet?]

Related coverage:

Woman found in rural Webb Co. with fatal wounds identified

ID of Claudine Anne Luera.

 

[leyash]

Sheriff: US border patrol agent arrested, suspected of killing 4 women

"LAREDO, Texas — A U.S. Border Patrol agent was arrested early Saturday on the suspicion that he killed four prostitutes and abducted a fifth, who escaped."

Can a mod update the title? Today's date. Thanks!! (sorry!)

 

[leyash]

Ahhhh. I just posted this same thing. Sorry mods!

This makes me sick. I hate when people take advantage of their position "Oh, he'd never do that, he's a police officer."

 

[thefragile7393]

I used to work for a local crisis center that centered around services for survivors of sexual abuse. We had a program that was bilingual and bicultural specially to reach out to ones outside of the traditional American population, and some stories that came out of there were horrifying. Some will abuse their power horribly and stories like this just don’t surprise me anymore

 

[Jax49]

TX - Sheriff: U.S. border patrol agent suspected of killing 4 women

 

[JimmyPerez]

Thanks for the thorough reporting on this!

 

[Harmony 2]

fyi duplicate threads were merged

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

fyi duplicate threads were merged

Thank you for adding the date to the name of the thread, too!

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Here’s another related story. This one’s from Sept. 14, after Claudine was found but before she was publicly ID’d. Gives some detail as to what Ortiz did to her and how she was found.

Rest In Peace, Claudine and Melissa. And I wish some semblance of peace and healing to all the victims and their families and friends. So awful and heartbreaking.

DPS: Woman found critically wounded off roadway in Webb County dies

About 7:30 a.m. Thursday, a concerned citizen called the Webb County Sheriff's Office to report the discovery of a woman who had been assaulted.

Sheriff's deputies and troopers responded to the incident. The woman was found off the roadway near mile marker 436 of Camino Colombia Road, about ½ mile east of U.S. 83.

First responders rushed her to a local hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Her identity has not been released, pending the notification of next of kin.

No further details were immediately available.​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

The Latest: CBP offers condolences to family of victims

LAREDO, TEXAS — The Latest on the arrest of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent suspected of killing several women (all times local):

4:50 p.m.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has offered condolences to family and friends of the victims of a border patrol agent suspected of killing several women.

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CBP says in a statement that while it is the agency's policy not to comment on an ongoing investigation, "criminal activity by our employees is not, and will not be tolerated.
​

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Laredo Morning Times has updated their lead story to include Ortiz’s age. He’s 35.

Sheriff: Border Patrol agent suspected of killing 4 women

 

[carbuff]

Did he just suddenly go off the rails? Or has something like this been going on for a while with women who just weren't noticed?

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Did he just suddenly go off the rails? Or has something like this been going on for a while with women who just weren't noticed?

That was my first thought, too.

His day job put him in the path of human trafficking victims — the same type of women he brutalized. I dunno. ... Something tells me he’s probably done this on some level before these most recent attacks.

 

[EuTuCroquet?]

Prosecutor: Border Patrol agent went on 2-week killing spree that left 4 women dead

Cuellar said investigators have "very strong evidence" that he is responsible for the deaths of the four women working as prostitutes. One of the victims was a transgender woman, said Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz.
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Alaniz told The Texas Tribune that after the suspect picked up the fifth woman she quickly realized that she was in danger.

"When she tried to escape from him at a gas station that's when she ran into a (state) trooper," Alaniz said.
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Alaniz said two of them were U.S. citizens but the nationalities of the other two were not yet known.
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Alaniz said investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the killings. Cuellar said investigators believe Ortiz acted alone.

"It's interesting that he would be observing and watching as law enforcement was looking for the killer, that he would be reporting to work every day like normal," Alaniz said.
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