In the early evening hours of Wednesday, July 30, 1997, Rebecca Ortiz's lifeless body was found in her bed. She had been strangled and struck in the head several times with a sledgehammer. Her automobile was missing from the garage and Ortiz, her adopted son, was not at home. Ortiz had spent the entire day driving several of his friends in his mother's automobile on a shopping spree, using his mother's credit cards to purchase clothing, CDs, an automobile CD player, flowers, and lunch and movie tickets for the group. Police soon learned that Ortiz was not permitted to drive his mother's automobile, that the two had had an argument the previous evening, and that Ortiz was supposed to be out of the house by Friday of that week.
Ortiz was arrested later the same evening. After being advised of his rights, Ortiz was
questioned by police the following day. He told police that he had argued with his mother over money, his running up her phone bill with thousands of dollars in 1-900 sex phone calls, and his pushing back his enlistment date in the military. Other witnesses told police, and later testified at trial, that Ortiz had previously stolen money from his mother, had stolen her checks and forged her signature, and had driven her automobile without her permission.
Rebecca's blood was found on the shirt, pants, and shoes that Ortiz was wearing on the night before her body was found. A blood spatter expert concluded that the spatter of blood was consistent with the clothes being worn at the same time that Rebecca was struck with a sledgehammer. A sledgehammer with Rebecca's blood on its head was found in her garage..."GUESS THIS SHOWS HOW MUCH ELAN CAN HELP!!
