On a spring evening in 2018, the life of 13-year-old Elizabeth Juarez, a Hispanic female, was tragically cut short. On March 28, she and 19-year-old Eveona Cortez were fatally shot outside an apartment complex in Burien, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. The King County Sheriff's Office was called to a chaotic scene on Ambaum Boulevard Southwest, where they found the two teenagers with gunshot wounds.
Both were transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition but succumbed to their injuries.
The investigation into the double homicide pointed towards gang-related violence. Detectives learned that both Juarez and the suspected shooter were associated with rival street gangs. In the time leading up to the shooting, Juarez had reportedly been involved in tagging the apartment complex where the suspect, Francisco I. Montero, lived with his girlfriend. Witnesses stated that Juarez had been specifically targeting Montero with graffiti. On the night of the incident, Montero was allegedly alerted by his girlfriend that members of a rival gang were outside their building. Shortly after, the fatal shooting occurred.
For three years, the case remained a high priority for the King County Sheriff's Office. A significant breakthrough came when Montero's DNA was found on shell casings recovered from the crime scene. At the time of this discovery, Montero was already incarcerated for a separate 2017 murder conviction. In June 2021, Francisco I. Montero was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Elizabeth Juarez and Eveona Cortez. Prosecutors asserted that while Juarez was the intended target, the perpetrators showed a callous disregard for who else might be harmed. The investigation into any accomplices who may have been involved with Montero continues.
