Border patrol agent charged with the murders of 4 sex workers after a two-week killing spree
A mugshot of Juan David Ortiz, the man who authorities arrested and charged with the murders of four sex workers in Webb County, Texas. Ortiz was found by law enforcement officers hiding in a truck in a Laredo parking lot. Image Credit: Webb County Sheriff's Department Image Source: Webb County Sheriff's Department
A two-week run of terror has finally ended after police apprehended 35-year-old Juan David Ortiz, an intel supervisor for the United States Border Patrol and charged him with the murders of 4 women who were all sex workers.
Police were tipped off when a fifth would-be victim escaped from Ortiz at a Texas gas station.
A ten-year agent of the Border Patrol, and a veteran of the United States Navy, Ortiz fled the gas station after the woman he kidnapped ran into a state trooper after she escaped his clutches.
Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz told the Texas Tribune that law enforcement believes Ortiz killed all four women since September 3rd, and that they will be treating him as a serial killer.
Two victims were American citizens, but the nationalities of the other women have not yet been made available. Alaniz says that investigators are still trying to discern a motive for the killings.
Alaniz told reporters of the Associated Press, “The manner in which (the women) were killed is similar in all the cases from the evidence… 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.”
One of the women whom Ortiz killed was a trans woman, and Ortiz may not have been stopped if Erika Pena, the last woman he was attempting to kidnap, did not fight Ortiz in his truck. According to the official police report, “Erika stated David began to act weird when she began to speak about Melissa, a female she knew who had been discovered dead the week before… David grabbed her shirt to prevent her from exiting the vehicle. Erika began to scream for help. Erika pulled off her shirt allowing her to escape and run away from the vehicle.”
The U.S. Border Patrol sent out its sympathies to the families of the slain women in a statement.
The statement reads: “Our sincerest condolences go out to the victims’ family and friends. While it is CBP policy to not comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, criminal action by our employees is not, and will not be tolerated.”
