Ex-Border Patrol agent convicted of killing 4 women in Texas - NPR

Former U.S. Border Patrol supervisor Juan David Ortiz reacts arsenic recorder jailhouse telephone calls to his wife, Daniella, are played extracurricular the beingness of the assemblage during his superior execution proceedings successful San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022 Jerry Lara/AP hide caption

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Jerry Lara/AP

Former U.S. Border Patrol supervisor Juan David Ortiz reacts arsenic recorder jailhouse telephone calls to his wife, Daniella, are played extracurricular the beingness of the assemblage during his superior execution proceedings successful San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022

Jerry Lara/AP

SAN ANTONIO — A erstwhile Border Patrol cause who confessed to sidesplitting 4 enactment workers successful 2018 was convicted Wednesday of superior murder, aft jurors heard recordings of him telling investigators helium was trying to "clean up the streets" of his South Texas hometown.

Juan David Ortiz, 39, receives an automatic condemnation of beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole due to the fact that prosecutors decided not to question the decease penalty.

Ortiz, a Border Patrol intel supervisor astatine the clip of his arrest, was accused of sidesplitting Melissa Ramirez, 29, Claudine Anne Luera, 42, Guiselda Alicia Cantu, 35, and Janelle Ortiz, 28. Their bodies were recovered on roads connected the outskirts of Laredo successful September 2018.

During the proceedings that began past week, jurors heard Ortiz's confession during a lengthy taped interrogation with investigators.

Ortiz told investigators helium had been a lawsuit of astir of the women, but helium besides expressed disdain for enactment workers, referring to them arsenic "trash" and "so dirty" and insisting helium wanted to "clean up the streets."

He said "the monster would travel out" arsenic helium drove on a agelong of thoroughfare successful Laredo frequented by the women.

Following the verdict, household members of the victims faced Ortiz to springiness their statements. Ramirez's sister-in-law, Gracie Perez, said she was "a loving, benignant and comic person." She told Ortiz that the hearts of Ramirez's children are present broken.

"Do you cognize however overmuch symptom you person caused this family?" Perez said. "My bosom is torn isolated knowing that I won't beryllium capable to spot her but to sojourn her successful the cemetery," she said.

Defense attorneys said Ortiz was improperly induced to marque the confession and that it should not beryllium considered. Defense lawyer Joel Perez argued that Ortiz, a Navy seasoned who had been deployed to Iraq, was suffering from post-traumatic accent disorder, had been suffering from insomnia, nightmares and headaches, and was medicated and had been drinking that night.

Prosecutors told jurors it was a ineligible confession provided by an educated elder instrumentality enforcement authoritative who was not having a intelligence breakdown.

Erika Pena testified that Ortiz picked her up connected the evening of Sept. 14, 2018, and that she got a atrocious feeling erstwhile helium told her helium was the "next to past person" to person enactment with Ramirez, whose assemblage had been recovered a week earlier. She testified that helium told her helium was disquieted investigators would find his DNA connected the body.

"It made maine deliberation that helium was the 1 who mightiness person been murdering," Pena, 31, told the jury.

Pena escaped from his motortruck astatine a state presumption aft helium pointed a weapon astatine her, and she ran consecutive to a authorities trooper who was refueling his vehicle. Ortiz fled.

Authorities tracked Ortiz to a edifice parking store successful the aboriginal hours of Sept. 15, 2018, and helium was arrested.

Capt. Federico Calderon of the Webb County Sheriff's Department testified that officers who arrested Ortiz knew astir the slayings of Ramirez and Luera, and portion chasing him aft Pena's flight learned that a 3rd assemblage — aboriginal identified arsenic Cantu's — had been found. But Calderon said it wasn't until Ortiz's confession that they learned Janelle Ortiz had been slain.

Webb County Medical Examiner Corinne Stern testified that Ramirez, Luera and Janelle Ortiz were fatally changeable portion Cantu, who was changeable successful the neck, died of blunt unit trauma to the head.

The bullets collected from the transgression scenes came from the aforesaid gun, and matched the limb recovered successful Juan David Ortiz's pickup, a ballistics adept testified.

Ortiz served successful the U.S. Navy for astir 8 years, until 2009, holding a assortment of aesculapian posts and served a three-year detachment with the Marines.