Juan David Ortiz

Serial Killer

Juan David Ortiz: The Border Patrol Agent Who Murdered Four Women

Background

Juan David Ortiz was a United States Navy veteran and longtime U.S. Border Patrol employee who became one of the most notorious serial killers in modern Texas history. In September 2018, Ortiz murdered four women during a twelve-day killing spree in and around Laredo, Texas. The victims were Melissa Ramirez, Claudine Anne Luera, Guiselda Alicia Hernandez Cantu, and Janelle Ortiz, who was not related to the killer. Ortiz had served in the Navy from 2001 until 2009 before joining the Border Patrol. During approximately ten years with the agency, he advanced to a supervisory intelligence position. He was educated, married, and a father, presenting the appearance of a stable family man and trusted federal employee. Behind that public identity, however, Ortiz regularly sought the services of sex workers along San Bernardo Avenue in Laredo, an area locally associated with street-level sex work.

The Beginning of the Killing Spree

Ortiz began killing on September 3, 2018. He selected women he encountered through sex work, transported them in his white Dodge pickup truck, and drove them to secluded locations outside the city. Once isolated, the victims were shot with a .40-caliber Heckler & Koch pistol. Ballistics testing later connected bullets and fragments recovered from the victims and crime scenes to the same firearm found inside Ortiz's truck. Investigators also documented tire impressions at the murder scenes. Those impressions were consistent with the tires on Ortiz's vehicle. The physical evidence, the property recovered from his truck, the testimony of the woman who escaped him, and Ortiz's recorded confession eventually formed a powerful case against him. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Melissa Ramirez Age: (29), Date of Death: 2018-09-03

Survivors:

Erika Pena , Date of Attack: 2018-09-15

Juan David Ortiz - Wikipedia