U.S. Border Patrol Agent arrested following September killing spree

Suspected serial killer Juan David Ortiz, 35, was arrested in the early morning hours of September 15 in Laredo, Texas, after a woman he allegedly kidnapped managed to escape his clutches and alert authorities.  Ortiz is a U.S. Border Patrol Agent charged with murdering four prostitutes in a killing spree that began on September 3.  Police found him hiding in a truck in a hotel parking lot yesterday.

“He has been charged with four counts of murder as well as aggravated assault and unlawful restraint,” according to Sky News.

Isidro Alaniz, Webb County District Attorney, was quoted as saying, “We do consider this to be a serial killer.”

Alaniz said his investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the killings.  Authorities believe that Ortiz acted alone in the killings.  “The manner in which they were killed is similar in all the cases from the evidence,” said Alaniz. He declined to say how they were killed, according to MSN.

Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar said police officers arrested Juan David Ortiz early Saturday after a woman who said she had been abducted by Ortiz escaped half-clothed and sought help at a gas station in Laredo.  ~ SFGATE

Ortiz has been employed as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent for 10 years.  There is speculation that there may be more victims out there.

The four murder victims were all working prostitutes.  One of the four was a transgender woman.  The first two victims’ bodies were discovered along I-35 in a rural section of northwest Webb County in early September.  The next two victims’ bodies were discovered in the same general location earlier this weekend.

For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.

~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter