In the early morning hours of October 6, 2021, the life of 19-year-old Oscar Ortega was tragically cut short in a premeditated act of violence that began in north Phoenix, Arizona. After leaving his girlfriend's home around 2:00 a.m., Ortega was confronted and abducted at gunpoint near Seventh Avenue and Union Hills Drive. The male suspect, later identified as 18-year-old Jerssen Perez, was the ex-boyfriend of Ortega's current girlfriend.
Security footage captured the moment Perez forced Ortega into a vehicle, marking the beginning of a harrowing ordeal.
During the kidnapping, Ortega managed to send a text message to his girlfriend, alerting her to the dire situation. This prompted his family to report his disappearance to the police. Inside the vehicle, a struggle ensued when Perez noticed Ortega using his phone and attempted to take it away. It was at this point that Perez shot Ortega multiple times. The violence did not end there, as Perez then drove approximately 25 miles to a desolate desert area north of the 101 freeway. There, he disposed of Ortega's body, along with shell casings and other incriminating evidence, in an attempt to conceal the heinous crime.
The investigation into Ortega's disappearance and murder moved swiftly, aided in large part by the suspect's own family. After returning home with red stains on his clothes, Perez confessed the murder to his family and gave them the weapon used in the crime. His family promptly contacted the authorities and turned over the evidence. Phoenix police located and arrested Perez later that same day. During his interrogation, Perez confessed to the kidnapping and murder, and according to court documents, admitted that he had been planning to kill Ortega for over a month. He led investigators to the location in the desert where he had left Ortega's body. Jerssen Perez was subsequently booked into jail on multiple felony charges, including first-degree premeditated murder, kidnapping, and tampering with evidence, with his bond set at $1 million.
