Homicide Hunter: American Detective is examining the crimes of serial killer Juan David Ortiz, a 10-year veteran of US Customs and Border Protection turned murderer of four women in Laredo, Texas.
Ortiz targeted sex workers in a two-week killing spree that left four women dead and could have led to more deaths had his fifth victim, Erika Pena, not escaped from his truck and alerted the police. Pena’s brave actions were instrumental in getting the killer off the streets.
The first victim was 29-year-old Melissa Ramirez, who was killed on September 3, 2018.
In the following two weeks, 42-year-old Claudine Ann Luera, 28-year-old Janelle Ortiz, and 34-year-old Griselda Cantu were also murdered. Janelle Ortiz was a transgender woman who is sometimes referred to in reports and documents by her birth name, Humberto Ortiz.
The four women were all picked up by Ortiz on Laredo’s San Bernardo Ave and taken outside city limits, where they were shot in the head.
The day before the last two murders, Ortiz had picked up Pena, and they were in his truck when the conversation turned to Ramirez’s murder. Pena later said that the killer began acting “weird,” and she grew suspicious.
Erika Pena alerted the cops to serial killer Juan David Ortiz
Pena jumped out of the truck as Ortiz grabbed her shirt, ripping it off her. Pena then ran topless to a State Trooper who was filling up at a nearby gas station.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelThe escaped Pena later told the cops she knew the man as “David,” and crucially, she had his correct address.
The cops went to Ortiz’s home, but he was not there. The police later learned that the killer had amassed a lot of weapons and was ready for a confrontation at his home. He sent goodbye messages to his wife and three kids the following day.
Investigators spotted Ortiz’s truck at a gas station and confronted him inside. Luckily, the killer had left his gun in the truck, but he still managed to escape on foot. The cops caught up to him hiding in the back of a truck in a hotel parking lot.
Juan David Ortiz finally admitted he was the Laredo serial killer
Ortiz contemplated suicide through death by cop by pretending his phone was a firearm, but the officers weren’t fooled and took him into custody.
The killer confessed to the four murders. He told the detectives he hated prostitutes and wanted to “clean up the streets” of Laredo.
Ortiz is serving a life sentence.
Homicide Hunter: American Detective airs Wednesday at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.