In the early autumn of 2021, the community of Green Bay, Wisconsin, was unsettled by a grim discovery. The body of 36-year-old Jason Mendez-Ramos was found in a wooded area on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus on September 28, 2021. The initial investigation was complex, as law enforcement first had to identify the remains. Once they confirmed his identity, the investigation into his death intensified, with detectives dedicating significant hours to piece together the events that led
to his demise.
Investigators soon determined that Mendez-Ramos had not been killed at the location where his body was discovered. The evidence led them to believe he was the victim of a homicide that occurred elsewhere, and his body was subsequently moved to the university grounds. As the case unfolded, the Green Bay Police Department appealed to the public for information, specifically seeking his vehicle, a red 2010 Ford Fusion, in the hopes it would provide clues to his final movements and the individuals he was with.
The investigation ultimately led to the arrest of Pedro Santiago-Marquez, a local business owner. Prosecutors laid out a chilling narrative, alleging that Santiago-Marquez owed Jason Mendez-Ramos a substantial sum of money, reported to be $80,000, stemming from a cocaine deal. Rather than settling this debt, Santiago-Marquez chose a violent path. A jury later concluded that on September 27, 2021, Santiago-Marquez either shot Mendez-Ramos himself or ordered another person to do so. Following the murder, he then directed that the body be taken to the UW-Green Bay arboretum and set on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence. Security footage, cellphone tracking data, and DNA evidence connected one of his associates, Jeisaac Rodriguez-Garcia, to the scene where the body was burned.
In March 2023, a jury found Pedro Santiago-Marquez guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and mutilating a corpse. Despite maintaining his innocence and referring to Mendez-Ramos as his "best friend" during the sentencing, he was sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for consideration of release on extended supervision in July 2064. Two other men, Jeisaac Rodriguez-Garcia and Alexander Burgos-Mojica, who were both connected to Santiago-Marquez's business, were also convicted for their roles in the aftermath of the murder, specifically for assisting in the disposal of evidence. Rodriguez-Garcia faced a charge of mutilating a corpse, while Burgos-Mojica was charged with aiding a felon.
