Juan David Ortiz is an American suspected serial killer and former Border Patrol agent. He is accused of killing four women, all sex workers, in September 2018. He was caught and arrested after a woman escaped and alerted police.
Personal life
Ortiz was a member of the United States Border Patrol for ten years, where he worked as an intelligence operator. He is also a United States Navy veteran. He had no reported disciplinary issues while he served. He was married and had three children. He earned a bachelor's degree from American Military University and a master's degree from St. Mary's University in Texas. The Sheriff's Chief Deputy said Ortiz planned to commit suicide by cop, stocking up on weapons and trying to goad police with his phone when arrested. In the hours before his arrest, he posted two goodbyes to people he knew on Facebook.
Arrest
On September 15, 2018, a woman who knew Ortiz and a sex worker named Melissa Ramirez, who had disappeared while allegedly in Ortiz's company, got into his vehicle according to reports. After talking to Ortiz about her friend, Ortiz allegedly pulled out a firearm and tore off her shirt. The women escaped by jumping out of the truck and then found a state trooper nearby refuelling their car, to whom the victim reported the incident. At 2:30 a.m. the next day Ortiz was arrested by Texas police in a hotel parking lot where he was allegedly hiding.
Victims
Ortiz has confessed to and is suspected of the following homicides: He is also suspected of kidnapping a woman. The five victims were sex workers, all women, one transgender. Ortiz confessed after his arrest that he had started killing on September 3 and that he personally knew the first two victims. He allegedly killed the other two on the morning of September 15 in the five hours between the assault on the escaped woman and his capture. Ortiz confessed to picking up a mother of two named Melissa Ramirez on September 3. She was 29 years old. After driving down a rural county road in Webb County, two miles outside the city, Ramirez got out of the vehicle to urinate, when Ortiz says he shot her multiple times. Her body was discovered the next day. Ten days later, Ortiz allegedly picked up 42-year-old Claudine Anne Luera, a mother of five. After she confronted him about the disappearance of her friend Ramirez, she got out of his vehicle when he shot her in the head. She was found alive and died hours later in the hospital. The last two victims were found on a five-mile stretch of Highway 35. Ortiz confessed to investigators that he took them in two trips from Laredo and killed them in similar manners. He led police to the site of the crime. Unlike Ramirez and Luera, he had no prior contact with these victims.
Aftermath
Ortiz has been charged by the Webb County court with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and was later indicted on one count of capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint and evading arrest. Ortiz has confessed to the four murders and fifth attempted murder to investigators, and allegedly has led investigators to one of the bodies. During interviews with investigators, Ortiz reportedly expressed a hatred of prostitutes. Investigators have stated that they have not ruled out the possibility that Ortiz had additional victims. In January 2019 Ortiz pleaded not guilty on four counts of murder and one count of assault, despite giving a taped confession to investigators.
