Laredo Serial Killer Juan David Ortiz's Last Remaining Victim To Be Identified Is Griselda Alicia Cantu

Cantu was the last victim of serial killer U.S. Border Patrol intel supervisor Ortiz to be identified.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

September 19, 2018

Laredo, Texas - On Wednesday, the last remaining unidentified victim that serial killer U.S. Border Patrol intel supervisor Juan David Ortiz, 35, murdered on September 15th was identified as Griselda Alicia Cantu, 35. Cantu was the third victim of serial killer Ortiz and her body was recovered at the 21 mile marker on Interstate 35 after 1:30 a.m. when a tip led authorities to the crime scene. Cantu was also fatally shot like the three other victims including a transgender woman.

The other victims were identified as Melissa Ramirez, 29, of Laredo who was found deceased on September 4 at the 300 block of Jefferies Road near the intersection of Camino Colombia and Claudine Anne Luera, 42, whose body was found near mile marker of 436 on Texas Highway 255. Luera was found shot multiple times in the head and barely alive and was transported to a local hospital where she later died. Luera was killed on September 13 after she accused Ortiz of being the last person to be seen with Ramirez before she was found dead. Luera is survived by five children, which two are autistic. Ramirez is survived by two children, a 7-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.
A transgender woman, Humberto "Janelle" Ortiz, 28, was also fatally shot in the head by Ortiz. Ortiz's body was recovered on Saturday after serial killer Ortiz told authorities where to find it.

All the deceased victims including Erika Peña, 26, who managed to escape from Ortiz on Friday around 9:00 p.m. were picked up between the 2700 to 4700 block of San Bernardo Ave., a known prostitution hub near downtown Laredo. The prostitution hub was first exposed in 1997 when a local news article identified the San Bernardo Ave. strip as a prostitution hub for men and women who sold sex favors for money. Law enforcement since 1997 have attempted to eliminate the prositution corridor by arresting female and male prostitutes including John's who pay for sex, but the corridor keeps expanding to downtown Laredo.

Ortiz was charged with four counts of murder, cash bond was set at $500,000 ($500K) for each count and one count each for unlawful restraint, cash bond set at $250K; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, cash bond set at $250K and evading arrest, cash bond was set at $3K totalling over $2.5M, according to the Webb County Sheriff's Office (WCSO). If convicted on all counts, especially capital murder, Ortiz is facing the death penalty or life in prison without parole. 

Ortiz is an intel supervisor with the U.S. Border Patrol and is a former U.S. Navy veteran and has a Masters degree. He is also married and has children.

Ortiz was indefinitely suspended without pay from the U.S. Border Patrol, according  to Carla Provost, the Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol.