a serial killer on the loose. >> and a town in panic. "20/20" starts right now. >> you ready? >> yeah. >> everybody was scared that you were showing up to laredo. somebody needed to put it out there, you know? something was wrong, and bodies

were being found all over the place. >> it was along this dusty road that a rancher found a woman's body face down on that bush. >> it is a female in her mid 30s. >> it seemed like an actual execution. >> how can someone just be thrown on the side of the road? >> what kind of person would do this? >> a monster. >> these back streets became a killer's hunting ground. >> there was concern out there, could we be next? >> and then another victim is found. >> i've got a female in the grass laying. >> come on, y'all. y'all got to hurry. >> i think my whole neighborhood heard me scream. >> just to know that she was left there to die. >> i'm sorry. >> nobody deserves that, nobody. >> we may have a serial killer on our hands. >> i told the chief, you need to

find him, because there's going to be more. [ speaking in a global language ] >> help me, help me. >> and that's just the of our nightmare. that's just the beginning. >> hey. hey! hey! hey! hey! it's a border town, but it's also one of the biggest border towns in the united states. so, we are in the back streets of san bernardo avenue in downtown laredo. commonly known as "la sanber." this is personal to me, because this is often where my mother worked and walked around. she stayed around this area.

there would be times where i would have to come down here to look for her. >> claudine luera was a mother. she loved her five children, and her family loved her. let's talk about your mom. what was she like? >> my mom, she was perfect. she was beautiful. she was funny. she was the best cook ever. you know, very thoughtful, very lovable. always reminding me, like, how much she loved me. >> we were, i think, well grounded by my family. we didn't have much, but we had what we needed. >> we were known as the little white girls, because my mother was originally from glasgow, scotland and my father, he was born and raised here in laredo, texas. family was very important for

her. >> she wanted us to have a better life and felt like she couldn't provide that for us, so then she resorted to the streets. >> she started going into a depression, and she didn't know there would be a way out. and we started noticing more habits. >> she had her own demons, but at the end of the day, she loved us. >> did you worry about her safety? >> every day. i would, you know, cry, pray to god, because she was on the streets, you know. i always had that worry in the back of my head. >> claudine was a woman who worked on san bernardo avenue. >> san bernardo has a unique kind of character on its own. it's known as having those little mom-and-pop shops. it's also known for its dark side -- the drug use, the drug exchanges. it's always been really known as sort of that red light district.

>> i was born and raised right here in south texas, so i know the good people of laredo are humble, warm, welcoming, and grounded in their mexican-american heritage. >> you're going to see so much of the mexican culture here in laredo. >> laredo's known for the jalapeno festival. >> go! >> laredo! >> this town is called the gateway city. and because it's right here on the border, there's a heavy law enforcement presence here. this is not a place where people fear for their safety. and that's why the murder of a young woman on the outskirts of town in 2018 shook this community to its very core. >> 911.

>> i'm here driving by jeffries road. i believe i found a dead body there. >> i'll go ahead and send somebody. >> okay, thank you. >> she was found in webb county in a colonia area. >> there's nothing out there. once you get outside of the city limits, it's rural texas. you know, it's just farmland, it's very flat land, dirt roads. >> not an area that city folks will visit unless they have a purpose to be there. >> it was along this dusty road that a rancher found a woman's body face down in that bush. she had been shot at close range several times. to investigators, this wasn't just a murder -- >> it would have happened about right here. >> right here. >> it seemed like an actual execution. back of the head and shot her here. >> captain federico calderon of the webb county sheriff's office

texas ranger e.j. salinas led the investigation, and they brought us to the crime scene. she was found out in the open. anyone could have seen this. >> right here. half on the road, half on the berm there, but yeah, completely out in the open. >> how long had she been out here? >> hours -- it could have happened that night before. >> what leads you to believe that she was killed here and not somewhere else and then her body dumped here? >> the evidence -- >> the evidence. >> i mean, the shell casings were right there next to the body. >> the eagle-eyed detectives find .40-caliber shell casings, as well as distinct tire tread marks that appear to be from a pickup truck. where were the tire marks found? show me back here. >> so, the tire marks would have been here from where he turned around. >> and then he just left her here. >> he just left her here. >> what kind of person would do this? >> a monster. >> we have new information regarding the body of a woman

found in northwest webb county. authorities have not yet released the name of the victim. >> i was extremely worried that that could have been my mother. that was a fear i had, you know, every night growing up. >> later that day, the medical examiner was able to identify the victim, but it wasn't claudine luera as her daughter ciara had feared. >> authorities confirmed tonight that the victim in this case is 29-year-old melissa ramirez from right here in laredo. >> as soon as law enforcement identified the victim as melissa ramirez, investigators notified her mother, maria cristina benevides. >> two detectives go to your front door. what do they say? [ speaking in a global language ]

>> i grew up with melissa since we were little. we were best friends, so i knew her since she was a baby. everybody just loved being around her 'cause she was always joking around, singing and dancing. and she was a human being, a beautiful human being. >> i spoke to my mother, and i was very relieved that it wasn't her, and she did share with me that somebody from sanber had been murdered. >> the community itself in san bernardo, everybody knew each other and they would watch out for each other. >> what was her relationship like with melissa? >> they were very close. they would protect each other in the streets. >> no one knew what happened, how it happened. it was just a waiting game.

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[ speaking in a global language ] >> ah. that's with her little boy? when you remember your daughter, what do you think? >> you're lucky you took these pictures. >> good afternoon, i'm brenda camacho. it's a story that shook the laredo community. melissa ramirez's body was found on u,s, 83 north near camino colombia road. >> on the day that we found out who the victim was, our reporters started going out in the field. we had learned that she was a sex worker that was picked up on san bernardo. >> san bernardo avenue is known in laredo. it's definitely a place at night

where the sex workers walk along. you know, there's probably drugs being sold along the roadway as well. >> according to investigators, melissa ramirez had been on the streets for years, using money from sexual encounters to buy drugs. but her family says she kept this lifestyle a secret from them. >> how did she start working on san bernardo avenue? [ speaking in a global language ] >> she never told you. >> i didn't know that. i didn't know anything. i never saw her -- never saw her drink or do drugs. >> whatever she did, she did, and who was we to judge? what if she was already going to lead that life? we don't know. she was private. she was very, very private. >> we do have to think about why people choose to do sex work. often it's addiction or the need to feed our children. and once that cycle begins, it's very difficult.

>> claudine luera's daughter, ciara, watched her mother struggle with those problems. >> she never ever wanted to tell me like, "oh, i'm a sex worker." >> she was ashamed. but addicted. >> she was, like, severely addicted to heroin. and she would need to go back to san bernardo to get that fix. >> when melissa did go out, did you worry? [ speaking in a global language ] >> in fact, two weeks before her daughter's murder, cristina says melissa came to her with a chilling premonition. [ speaking in a global language ] >> we were trying to find out

who did it. at that point, we didn't know who it was, because anybody can be a suspect. >> and while melissa ramirez's family questioned who might want her dead, investigators were chasing down that lead about a black pickup truck seen near her body. >> there was a vehicle on that specific ranch road where her body was found, and the homeowners that were at an adjacent property saw the vehicle. they see that it was parked there for some amount of time that caught their attention, and when they saw it drive away, they noticed that there was a body next to the truck. so they naturally came to the conclusion that truck was involved with that body somehow. >> i'm the district attorney. my communication to the deputies who are working the scene is, we need to find this man who did this. we had to find that truck. >> police use any sort of

resource they can pool to get that license plate and figure out all of the information attached to it. at some point, they enlist the help of border patrol to track down whose license plate is this? >> at the time i was assigned to an intel center that's housed there with border patrol. and every time we run across a name, a number, i usually call up there to get research done. >> and they have cameras out there. >> they monitor cameras that's mainly along the river in some brush areas. >> that can be helpful. >> that can be beneficial. so that was one of my first calls. >> law enforcement is able to identify the driver. >> who was that person? >> that person ended up being a police officer. >> it was surprising to hear that a police officer was in that truck and could have potentially been the suspect. >> we're making sure that, cross

your ts, dot your is. but yes, they're thinking hopefully we have the person. >> the sheriff's office and the rangers confronted him, brought him in for questioning, and then they got a search warrant to go to his house and recover weapons and trying to check his alibis, check his history. >> this individual cooperated with investigators and told his side of the story. >> according to the officer, he was out with his kids looking at properties for sale. >> he never saw the body on the side of the road. at the end, it ended up being a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. >> all of that was corroborated and he was cleared as a suspect. >> the victim in this case is 29-year-old melissa ramirez. so far no arrests have been made. >> once police already ruled out the police officer as the suspect, they go back to the drawing board. >> it was important to try to get information on any of the johns or boyfriends that may have been visiting with her leading up to the murder. >> we didn't know if we were dealing with a person who was in

the drug or prostitution world or human trafficking. we were trying to find what happened that night, who she was with. >> melissa's mother, cristina, had provided investigators with the name of a man she says spent time with her daughter just days before her murder. >> she was a he was a regular. a regular customer. he was driving a vehicle similar to a vehicle that was in the area early on. >> and he had picked her up? >> and he had picked her up. >> when investigators ran a background check on the suspect, they learned he owned a gun similar to the one used to kill melissa. >> with that information in hand, law enforcement sets up surveillance at his home. >> anything could have happened in that situation. >> he could be armed and dangerous. >> investigators were prepared for a confrontation.

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don't know, is this guy going to pull out a gun? is he armed and dangerous? law enforcement had a clock that was ticking. >> so, on september the 6th of 2018, when they were conducting surveillance, it was the first time they got a look at him. sure enough, they're able to intercept him as he's walking out of his home. once they approach him, they identify themselves as to what their purpose is. he cooperates and agrees to go to the station. and questioned him as to when the last time he saw melissa. he relates that it would've been two to three days before her murder and that he picked her up on san bernardo avenue. he's with her that evening, and at the end of the night, he drops her off at the pan american motel, and that is the last time that he saw her. >> he handed over his cellphone and was eventually cleared as a suspect after cell tower data

placed him elsewhere on the day of the murder. >> at the end, his story checked out. >> and at this point, you have some names of ramirez's associates. >> correct. >> in fact, you followed up on three leads of three men who had known melissa. >> correct. >> and none of them turned out to be the killer. >> they all seemed like good leads at the time. and, uh, we -- we did our investigation, followed up, interviewed and we did what we had to, but at the end of the day, they weren't panning out as viable suspects. >> were you praying for that the killer be found? [ speaking in a global language ]

>> i know that they were working tirelessly, the investigators in this case. >> we weren't sleeping. me and fred were tight at the hip for those next couple of days. >> they're trying to, you know, hone in on who could have picked up melissa? who was this person? they were literally working non-stop trying to find the killer. >> we were out there every day talking to people, visiting different, you know, residences and businesses, driving up and down south bernardo and areas around that area, and talking to people on the streets, talking to people in the front yards and hoping somebody could give us some information. >> old fashioned police work. >> exactly. we had been able to piece together the days leading up and who she had been with and who she had frequented with, but

that critical time before she died was what we were missing. >> i think the number one thing that we wanted to know is to find peace and to make sure that that person didn't hurt someone else. or hurt our family. >> with a killer on the loose, the city of laredo remained on high alert, and so did the women of la sanber. >> i think their friends that worked in that same industry probably pieced it together first. >> mm-hmm. >> somebody's going around killing our friends. >> though melissa ramirez's case confounded investigators, they suspected that these back streets had become a killer's hunting ground. i'm walking down san bernardo avenue, better known as la sanber. it's laredo's red-light district. and although things have changed a little bit since 2018, it's still business as usual here.

what brings you out here? >> um -- i don't know exactly how to say it. i don't really know how to explain myself. i guess necessities. >> you heard what happened. how scary was that to you? >> very. i actually was asleep that night. i was going to be out here, you know, and thankfully, i was asleep. >> you were going to be out here that night? >> yeah. 'cause i'm always around here, so -- yeah. >> how dangerous is it? >> very. >> you never know whose car you're getting into. >> yeah. >> why do you do it? >> i really don't know. >> and even after what happened, you're still out here. it's dangerous. do you think you'll ever leave the streets? >> yes. >> all right, you be careful, okay? >> one of the names that had

come up is claudine luera. she's a friend of melissa's who would've been also working on the san bernardo. law enforcement felt that perhaps she could have provided information on the last time that melissa was picked up. >> how did your mom react to melissa's murder? >> she was afraid. >> she was worried. >> mm-hmm. my mother had asked me to get her a taxi. and to pay for it, for her to get taken to my apartment. and she asked if she could stay there then because she just didn't feel safe. she just, you know -- i could tell there was fear. >> police are still not releasing much information in connection to the case of a woman found dead in a rural part of webb county. >> in the days following melissa's murder, there have been no arrests. >> no arrests. >> are you feeling pressure from the community? >> there's always pressure when

somebody's been killed, especially in this manner. >> people cared because how can someone just be thrown on the side of the road and nothing's done about it? >> she's just as important as every other person. so the community wanted answers, and they wanted to prevent it from happening again. >> one of the biggest challenges we have in law enforcement is time. right? so time is the biggest enemy that we -- we have when i say that, because only the criminal can decide when, where and how to commit the crimes. >> there was concern out there, could we be next? >> ten days later, there were reports of a second victim. >> the victim was found about a mile away from laredo's previous homicide victim. >> and that's just the beginning of our nightmare. that's just the beginning. introducing finish ultimate. engineered for the ultimate clean in the toughest conditions. dry burnt-on stains.

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who did you think would have been responsible for this crime? >> it was a whodunnit at that time, and law enforcement's trying to catch up. >> ten days into the investigation, you still didn't have much. >> we still didn't have much. >> and then another victim was found. >> correct. >> on the morning of september 13th, 2018, a truck driver spots the body of a young woman in a ditch about a mile up the road from where melissa ramirez was killed. >> webb county 911. >> hey, i'm at, uh -- i'm on

highway. >> okay. >> -- and i-83. >> okay. >> and i've got a female in the grass laying -- >> he initially thought that she probably got hit by a car, but then closer inspection, he learned she was shot. >> the victim had been shot in the back of the head but was still clinging to life. >> and i don't know if she's unconscious, but she is breathing right now, but there is blood all over the grass, okay? so y'all better send a paramedic and the police first. >> yes. >> she was probably there laying for hours before law enforcement found her. >> i can't believe nobody else stopped for this freakin' lady. come on, y'all. y'all gotta hurry. she's still breathing though. y'all gotta hurry. >> was she able to give you a description of her assailant? >> no, she really couldn't process much information other than the amount of pain that she was feeling. >> the victim was found this morning after a concerned citizen reported the discovery to the webb county sheriff's office. she was alive when deputies arrived but later died at the

hospital, and an investigation is now under way. >> there were a lot of personal belongings, and even her shoes were there. there was two casings recovered from this crime scene, but the victim had only one impact to the back of her head, which was indicative to me that the victim was trying to run away at the time that she was shot. >> my husband told me, i saw it on the news. it said, second victim found. i didn't know anything. nobody knew anything. >> it was a similar circumstance to melissa. we had no idea who the victim was yet, but based off of how she was found and the similarities in the case, it was natural to assume, could it possibly be another sex worker? >> news travels fast in laredo, and claudine's sisters were soon hearing rumors that she may have been killed. >> people are saying that the person they found was claudine.

that's the word on the street. i call my sister and i'm shaking. and i'm like, "you need to call the police. we have to find her. we have to find her." >> the last time i spoke with her was on tuesday, i believe. it was the 11th. >> and what happens? you get a phone call? >> yeah, i get a phone call. i answer, we talk for a bit, and then i get some messages just telling me how much she loves me. and she tells me the most beautiful things like, "chula, hermosa, preciosa that i love more than anything in this world, to infinity and beyond." it was like the most beautiful message she had sent. >> i called an investigator friend to see what was going on, and i gave my sister's description of all the tattoos, all her scars that i can recall. and she immediately said, this case belongs to the texas rangers. >> captain calderon responded,

and i responded as well. after surveying the scene, collecting some of the stuff that she had, we learned her name. >> i ended up calling the coroner's office, but for some reason, they didn't want to release any information. i go, her kids are about to come home from school. i go, what am i supposed to tell them? i go, she's not answering her phone. and i guess, you know, the lady felt sorry for me. and she said, we can confirm that it is claudine luera. and at that point, i just lost it. i think my whole neighborhood heard me scream. >> collette then had to break the devastating news to her niece ciara. >> the images that i saw, you know, of the blood on the ground and how much blood, it looked almost like she dragged her body and she fought. and she fought very hard.

that, just to know that she was, like, left there to die, i mean -- >> i'm sorry. >> nobody deserves that, nobody. she had such a good heart. she was just the sweetest lady. and she tried, you know? she had her vices, she had her addiction, but she still fought. she still tried. she still was, you know, trying to be present for us. >> what really went through my mind was that she was still alive and she was on the side of the road and he threw her like trash. i said, who does that? you know? >> did you wind up asking yourself who might have been responsible? >> yes. i thought it would have been one of her ex-boyfriends. because she was always in toxic relationships.

>> i was just thinking, who else could it have been? >> and while claudine's family questioned who was responsible, investigators had a theory. >> you said that claudine luera might have been a possible witness to melissa's murder. >> that's correct. we were looking for her as one of the last possible witnesses that had seen melissa with the unknown person who ended up later killing her. >> you think that's why luera was killed? he was trying to tie up loose ends? >> we can speculate, but that's too much of a coincidence. >> you can start seeing that the suspect has created a form of m.o., that this is the group that he's targeting, because the similarities are just uncanny. >> i've always felt very safe here, and this was probably the first time where i thought, goodness, this is -- this is real. >> i told the chief deputy of

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the information that was relayed to me was, mr. d.a., we have another one. we have a female who works in prostitution, shot execution style. >> very similar. >> very similar. >> these were among the darkest

days laredo had ever faced. a possible serial killer was on the loose, targeting vulnerable women on the streets of la sanber. >> the women on san bernardo were more heightened because they're coming after our own. >> some serial killers choose sex workers because they presume no one will care. but in laredo, they cared. law enforcement took this seriously. >> it was so callous. the locations where they were found and the outskirts, it appeared to me that these people were brought to their final resting place. >> same thing. >> same thing. >> almost showing it off. >> almost showing it off, you know, and that's the challenge. there's the body. good luck finding the killer. >> it had become a deadly game of cat and mouse, and in the wake of the murders, clues left behind that could help investigators catch a killer. >> they were able to recover a

very good readable cast of the tire tread, which matched the tire tread in the first area. crime scene two, crime scene one matched. >> but that's not all. the shell casings recovered from claudine's murder appeared to match the gun used to kill melissa. >> we're at the arena gun club in laredo, texas. so, we're going to demonstrate a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun. >> the killer had used this type of gun. >> yes, sir. >> captain, that was a pretty good shot. what's happening to the shell cases when you're firing? >> the blowback from the discharge of the bullet itself pushes the slide back, ejects the casing. so the firing pin when it strikes the back of the case, it leaves a very specific indentation.

>> right here? >> yes. and through forensics we can analyze it and we're able to link the different shell casings at the different crime scenes. >> and whoever killed these women, why did he leave these all over the ground? >> being reckless, which is good for us. >> police are still not releasing much information. >> we knew of the coverage of these murders, but police weren't saying much. >> you must have tried to keep the facts of the case out of the media initially. >> that's hard to do obviously. >> now, what we do know is the case is being treated as a homicide. >> laredo's a small community. crime is always on the front page, so people started to get nervous, people started to get scared. and rightfully so. >> the thought of a serial killer in a community like ours was unfathomable. and now that it was real, it brought along real fears. >> in the aftermath of the murders, the women of la sanber, like the young woman we met, feared that a menacing killer roamed these streets and it was

only a matter of time before he chose his next victim. >> and that is what i'm thinking -- this is going to continue unless we stop this person. >> and the very next day after claudine luera's murder, investigators get a call about a possible third victim. it's early evening on san bernardo avenue. a man picks up sex worker erika pena. >> she was taken to a client's home, a client that she knew. by the name of david. >> but once there, things do not go as planned, and the night begins to take a very unexpected turn. >> he starts making some real bizarre comments to her. >> he started bringing up melissa and how he was concerned police were going to suspect him because he had been with her.

>> and she tries to calm him down and saying, if you were involved with her, that's no big deal, you didn't kill her. but he's emphasizing, well, she may have my dna, so they may think it's me. >> that statement set off alarm bells for erika. >> she is trying to find a way to get out. she starts getting sick to her stomach. >> at that point, he was like, let's go get you something to eat and maybe that'll help your stomach. so she went with him. they stopped at a local gas station that wasn't far from his home. >> he deliberately parked behind the gas station near the truck drivers, away from cameras or witnesses. >> in that moment, erika comes face-to-face with a killer. >> and that's when he pulls his .40-caliber hk and points it at her. >> she was the one that really broke the case for us. >> and there's video for it. >> that's right, a woman running for her life.

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hands up. turn around. stop tliegt. stop, stop, stop. hey, hey, hey. >> three victims and one possible serial killer on the loose, but not for long.

>> it's a real-life thriller that's playing out on surveillance tape and police cams. >> he got very weird all of a sudden. i got a vibe. >> a bad vibe? >> "20/20" on the ground in laredo, texas. the killer had used that type of gun. >> we got another body, bro, by the 15 mile marker. >> all the law enforcement around me jumps away from the table. they scoot their chairs back, everybody rushes to the door to get in their units to go find her. >> how did you find out that she'd been killed? >> this is where the monster came out. >> you could see the monster coming out? >> i don't know if you ever see the devil coming out of somebody. kind of like that. >> [ bleep ] that. you're probably the killer. you're probably the killer.

>> my tia cristina, melissa were inseparable, you know? and that's the thing that gets me is, like, why did you have to take her? >> the why may never come, but after claudine luera's body was discovered, investigators were able to make a clear connection between the two victims. >> the biggest similarity is that they were both sex workers. they both worked on san bernardo. and also luera was found not far from where melissa was found. >> families were telling their loved ones, be careful when you go out there. something's going on. >> 26-year old erika pena is staring down the barrel of a .40-caliber pistol, held at gunpoint by a man who picked her up on san bernardo avenue.

in the past 12 days, two women she knew had been murdered. she suddenly realizes this could be the killer terrorizing laredo. >> she begins to get panicked, and she's trying to leave the vehicle, and a struggle happens and he ends up ripping off her shirt. it was at this service station that investigators got their big break. a state trooper was pumping gas here when a shirtless woman ran up to him saying that a man was trying to kill her, and it was all captured on those security cameras. >> so, on that night, i finished refueling, all of a sudden, i see the lady coming from the side of the store, kinda rapid walking towards my patrol car. [ speaking in a global language ] >> she had mentioned to me that she just had gotten assaulted by an individual and that this individual pointed a gun at her.

i know, but it's a shock. you just came from a possible kidnap. [ speaking in a global language ] >> and he got very weird, all of the sudden. i got a bad vibe. >> a bad vibe? [ speaking in a global language ] >> they take her to the substation where she begins to tell a story. and she begins to explain about this one guy named david who drives a white truck. she even says i was at his house tonight before i escaped. [ speaking in a global language ] >> might work in the oil fields right? >> they start canvassing that area with erika in the car, and she points out the house where she had been. >> with a search warrant, we got into the house. no one was home. he had an ar-15, pistols, and

they were staged, ready for use. >> what did that tell you? >> that he was ready to shoot it out for anybody knocking at his door. >> a record search showed that the homeowner's name was juan david ortiz. police issued an alert and started looking for him. >> that night we were actively patrolling 35. we receive a bolo with the, uh, the picture of the suspect that we were looking for, along with the, license plate number. truck. now, seven miles away, that same truck is spotted at another gas station. >> one of the troopers saw the vehicle and eventually matched it with the license plates. and they waited for the person to come out of the gas station. >> hands up! turn around! >> stop right there! stop, stop, stop, stop. is this your truck?

all right. turn around! >> he was saying, you're scaring me. what's going on? that's when he decided to, to run. >> turn around please. hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! >> running at full speed, the troopers have their body cams on, and you see the footage as the foot chase begins. >> where's he at? no, bro, he went inside here. he's in here. >> he came back up westbound on to the other streets. when he hooked up to go the garage ramp, that's when we both lost sight. so after regrouping, backup does show up, troopers, webb county s.o., laredo p.d. >> you have multiple law enforcement agencies basically barricading the whole hotel, kind of making it seem like the movies. >> the police activity even attracted priscilla villarreal, known to her facebook followers

as la gordiloca. >> all i know that texas rangers, dps, laredo police department, sheriff department are here at this time. >> she livestreams the event from her phone. >> everybody has their firearms at hand. >> priscilla isn't the only one posting social media updates. >> from his hiding spot, juan david ortiz hears police closing in on him and sends ominous messages online to family and coworkers. >> he turns to his social media page and starts to send messages. >> on facebook. >> on facebook, saying, you know, this is doc, i'm signing out. >> to my wife and kids, he said, i love you. >> "farewell." so he's checking out. >> they started going up the parking garage, and they were doing a very thorough search. >> they clear floor-by-floor. we're checking, doors, cars, you

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>> take a seat. >> somewhere in the course of that evening, they find out that he's law enforcement. >> investigators say minutes before he's captured, people at the border patrol intelligence center suddenly realize juan david ortiz is actually agent juan david ortiz. >> they called him and told him, hey, the guy you're looking for is, you know, one of our guys. >> supervisor. >> i'm completely shocked. i'm disappointed obviously, and

i'm saddened by the news that it's an agent, you know, that they have in custody. >> this was a border patrol agent that people trusted. this was a law enforcement officer who was committing horrific crimes. >> it was here in this tiny interview room, in this very chair that juan david ortiz sat handcuffed for nearly eight hours. >> one of the things that stands out during his interview is that air of arrogance that he has. he even made fun of the troopers that chased him on foot for being out of shape. >> turn around. please. >> let me get my i.d. >> turn around. hey, hey, hey, hey! hey! hey! >> hey, who's the trooper i smoked, man? the trooper that couldn't keep up with me, dude? tell him he needs to work out some more, man. ha. two of them. >> juan david ortiz was 35, married for 14 years to a woman he met in high school. they're raising their three children in a comfortable home

north of laredo. >> grew up in brownsville. served a tour in the middle east. >> he was a medic, um, in the navy, and he was assigned to a marine unit. >> he helped save people. >> he did. >> i am sickened and saddened by the events that have occurred and offer my deepest condolences to the families and the friends of the victims. >> there was nothing in his background, certainly, that would have alerted cbp or have indicated that mr. ortiz was capable of anything like this, and nothing disciplinary. >> this clean-cut guy sipping water, fixing his hair, lounging -- could he be the guy hunting the streets of laredo, haunting the border town with a series of execution-style murders? the next eight hours will tell. >> hello, sir. >> hello.

>> you doing okay? >> good, good. >> it had to be one of the top, if not the top, interview that i've done in this room here. >> what's your name? >> you guys already know. >> can you tell us? >> you guys already know. >> in the early stages of the interview, what was his demeanor like? >> he was evasive, didn't want to really cooperate. >> ortiz, help me understand what you're thinking. why? it doesn't jive. look, ortiz. look at me. >> you want me to explain something that i don't know jack [ bleep ] about. >> there's no doubt in their mind that he is the person. the big challenge is going to be, is he going to be willing to talk? >> do you have something against drug users? >> no. >> do you have something against prostitutes? >> no. >> and he starts talking about

how he needs help and the v.a. and how he's been affected with the medicines. >> they confirmed that i got ptsd. they -- they put me on all those [ bleep ] pills, on sleeping pills, migraine pills, all kinds of [ bleep ] i seen a psychiatrist a bunch of times. >> and there's one word that comes out sort of at the beginning of the interview that's interesting. and it's the texas ranger that interjects it. >> has there ever come a time where you blacked out and didn't know what you did? is it like often or -- ? >> ortiz jumps at it, and he runs with it. >> "i'm gonna say i had a blackout." >> "i had a blackout." >> i started blacking out like that. >> when that started happening? >> when i drink and take those pills. i take the pills every day, so in other words, when i drink. >> initially he completely denied knowing who erika was. >> i have no idea who you're talking about. >> and unbeknownst to him, erika

is just down the hall giving an interview to police. >> that's right. so, erika has already given all this information. [ speaking in a global language ] >> now we know he's lying, because we know erika was in his house. erika was able to describe his house particularly, inside and out. [ speaking in a global language ] >> little by little, the investigator and the ranger are able to confront him with evidence -- physical evidence, photographic evidence. >> look at this one please. that's melissa. .40-caliber smith & wesson through the back of the head, more than once. >> back of the head? >> there was more than one shot. that's why i said more than one.

>> the investigators show ortiz photos of his alleged victims, melissa ramirez and claudine luera, before and after pictures, alive and dead. >> that's claudine when she was alive. this is what she looked like before. that's what she looked after you, after she had an encounter with you. this is what melissa looked like before. >> she's actually a pretty woman. >> and this is what happened to melissa after. she left five kids behind. [ whistles ] >> so they start to talk to him about the ballistics, matching the casings to his gun. >> and the shell casings we picked up, all .40 caliber. all smith & wesson, .40 cal, the same type of ammo you have in your service pistol. >> also in his vehicle, he has two women's purses. [ speaking in a global language ]

>> so, back here is where some of the belongings were. there were makeup bags or purses. >> let me start showing you some stuff here. this was in your truck. that's not your wife's. >> there's a turning point in this story that's very dramatic. he starts to fidget with his -- with his handcuffs. >> can you please take these off? i'm not going to attack you. >> i turned to everybody in the rooms, i say, "guys, get ready. here it comes." (energetic music plays) there he is! it's right there! ♪ oh, he's straight ahead. he's straight ahead. straight ahead. go go go. ♪ cover more ground in the kia sportage turbo-hybrid. kia. movement that inspires.

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i didn't do any of the [ bleep ] that you guys are saying. >> you didn't do it or you don't recall? >> both, i didn't do it and i don't recall, that's pretty traumatic [ bleep ] i'm sure i would remember something like that. >> the interview of border patrol agent, and now a multiple murder suspect, juan david ortiz, is looking hopeless. he was uncooperative, manipulative, playing games with the investigators. >> claudine. >> how many rounds did this one have? >> you tell me. >> you tell us. >> you tell me. >> you're the one who did it. >> no, i didn't. >> the first sign of emotion comes when ortiz asks for a photo of his family from his phone. >> what picture would you want? >> i'll show you. it's the only one with my family there. >> he reacts to nothing except his family, which is really interesting. i mean, cold, cold, cold. and then the one time he reacts is with his family. >> do you know what y'all were

wearing? >> it was mother's day. >> the investigators say they'll try. >> ortiz submits to a dna sample and photos. then the border patrol agent gets a new uniform -- from forest green to jailhouse orange. >> my mom's gonna have a heart attack just so you know. she really is. she really is. i'm the pride and joy of the whole family. >> there's a turning point in this story that's very dramatic. >> you served your country. you've done the right thing. help us right now. help us to do the right thing. help yourself do the right thing. >> the turning point close to 11:30 in the morning is when he starts to fidget with his handcuffs. >> it all started -- can you please take these off? i'm not going to attack you. >> he kind of just like lets out

this breath, and he's like, okay, i'll tell you. >> melissa was a friend. not a friend, but like a sanber friend. >> here is that dramatic moment where captain calderone is removing the handcuffs. >> we felt like that was a moment, so we removed his cuffs. >> i picked her up. >> mm-hmm. and sure enough he, he let us have it. >> look like, okay, so we're going, and we start cruising. >> he eventually admits to knowing erika and, you know, what happened between them. >> erika was in my house. >> erika was in your house today? >> yes. >> what did he tell you about the murders of melissa and claudine? >> he basically told us a story that, uh, when he was an intel border patrol agent, he used to patrol those areas in san bernardo, so he got to know the crack houses, he got to know the street walkers and stuff like that. >> and he starts off talking

about melissa, how he picked her up. >> he was friends with melissa. he would take her to buy drugs, that he would just take her to buy food. >> the night he killed melissa ramirez, ortiz says she used drugs and passed out in his truck. >> complete deep [ bleep ] sleep. driving around lose this -- >> he got annoyed. and he just shot her. >> what does he tell you about the murder weapon? >> he told us he used his h&k .40-caliber service pistol, what he used for work every day. >> his service revolver. >> i got in my truck, busted a u-turn.

went straight to my house to my loving wife and kids. >> and he says these words around this time that were quite, just, shocking. >> this is where the monster came out. >> that's when the monster came out. >> you could see the monster coming out. >> it kind of took me back. because, i don't know if you ever see the devil coming out of somebody. kind of like that. >> [ bleep ] these people. >> he was so callous about the way that he talked about the women. he didn't care. >> like, why the [ bleep ] doesn't anybody take out these -- >> does he ever tell you why he killed these women? >> his claim is that he was quote, unquote, cleaning up the streets. >> the first one was not planned.

>> correct, right. after that i saw it like, this is going to sound stupid. like i wanted to like clean up the streets and nobody is going to [ bleep ] do it. >> he willfully admits he's this vigilante, trying to clean up the streets of laredo. >> it's quite a contradiction, isn't it? >> correct. absolutely. >> he's buying them drugs. he's paying these prostitutes himself. >> correct. >> and then he claims he's trying to clean it up. >> it was a poor attempt at justification for the horrible crimes he had committed. >> so i was like, you know, they're not good people. so i convinced myself of that. >> that was his mindset, that these women, based on the choices that they had made, that they did not deserve to live and that he was in a position to the judge, jury and executioner. >> we'll just have a trial right here on the side of the road, and i'll take you out. what you're doing is wrong. it's illegal. you're not worthwhile. good-bye. and that's just despicable.

>> ortiz says claudine luera, his second victim, realized in her final moments that he was the one who killed her friend melissa. >> [ bleep ] that. you're probably the killer. you're probably the killer. shut the [ bleep ] up. you're probably -- get out of my truck. she gets out. "you're probably the killer." >> he takes her near the area where melissa was killed, the outskirts of laredo. >> did she see it coming, or she didn't see it coming? >> i don't think she saw it. >> so, after confessing about melissa, about claudine, and about erika, investigators ask him if there's anything else he'd like to get off his chest. >> and it was that proverbial last question that every cop asks, right?

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this way to health insurance. enroll by december 31 at coveredca.com. the fear gripping laredo, texas, now has a name -- juan david ortiz. a border patrol agent killing the very people he was sworn to protect. >> i still remember that phone call. my mom, scared. mija, they killed a girl. and then i think a week later, mija, another one? they killed another one, mija. >> elva enriquez's daughter,

28-year-old janell ortiz, was a regular on san bernardo avenue in september 2018 when the killings began. >> i did call janelle because you just never know. and she was like, no, yeah, i'm okay, you know, nothing will ever happen to me. all my angels protect me. >> when janelle ortiz came out as transgender, her mother was accepting. she refers to janelle using male pronouns. >> so he started dressing as a girl, high heels, everything. he looked beautiful, like those drag queens. i was just, be safe, come home at a decent hour. >> how would you describe her? >> really friendly, really outgoing, she was really funny. >> by the time juan david ortiz is in that room with investigators, janelle's family is frantic. >> you went to the streets at

2:00 in the morning looking for her. >> yeah. >> you were wishing, hoping. >> i was praying, praying. >> back in that room at the webb county sheriff's substation, juan david ortiz finally reveals what he was doing in those missing hours before his capture. >> after erika's escape at around 9:00, 9:15 p.m. on september 14th, we know that juan david ortiz goes back to his home and waits for law enforcement. he's waiting for a confrontation. >> i grab my 9 mil, grab my .40-cal, start loading them. grab my ar-15 and start loading them. >> but he doesn't stay there. he doesn't wait for law enforcement. he decides that he's going to go back to san bernardo avenue. >> the next time we see juan david ortiz is at the murphy's gas station. this is somewhere between 10:45 and 11:00 p.m. on september the 14th.

we have video surveillance of him going into the gas station. >> i just remember that they showed surveillance of him getting more bud light. >> he grabs three bud light tallies and brings them to the counter, walks out, and he drives away. >> it turns out that very night ortiz had unfinished business. after erika pena escapes, he returns to his hunting ground, la sanber. even as police throw a dragnet across laredo, in just two hours, between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 in the morning, ortiz kills again. >> you guys haven't found this one. >> he started telling us about janelle ortiz and how he had just killed that person. >> exit at the 15. there's barricades. there's gravel mounds. >> all the law enforcement around me jumps away from the table, they scoot their chairs back, everybody rushes for the

door to get in -- >> to go find her. >> to get in their units to go find her. >> we got another body, bro, by the 15 mile marker by some gravel pits. >> another one? >> it's another one, yeah. >> some of the investigators from the webb county sheriff's office went out there and confirmed that there was a body over there. >> he gave you information that only the killer would know. >> correct. >> sadly, i get that phone call, a phone call you never expect, you know. >> i went to my knees. i cried for two and a half hours. >> i mean, i know she had her battles. she chose the path, you know. but she was loved, very loved. >> after killing janelle, ortiz returns yet again to san bernardo avenue. >> that's when he picks up guiselda hernandez cantu. >> she is, too, a sex worker.

he takes her to the typical spot he goes to in the outskirts of laredo. >> they park under the underpass, and he tells her -- >> walk that way. >> san antonio's to the north, laredo's to the south. you go north. >> he's letting her go? >> he's letting her go. >> and she said, why are you just letting me go? and i said, i want you to relay a message. and she's like, what? you've heard about all of this [ bleep ] that's been on the news? i'm the one who did it. >> guiselda takes a few steps away from his truck. she turns around and she comes back. >> she came back. >> she came back to the truck, and she tells him, what you need is god, and god can forgive you for whatever you've done. >> i'm telling you to walk away. just walk away, okay? walk away. >> guiselda started talking to him, telling him about god. he didn't want to hear it.

>> i'm telling you to walk away, and you're not listening to me. boom. boom, boom. >> 911. >> i just, uh, crossed the webb interchange over here by mile marker 21. and, uh, there's a -- there's a body. there's a person laying on the ground right underneath the bridge. >> captain fred calderon gets a phone call and it says, captain, we found another one. >> as the border patrol agent confesses, an unsettling realization dawns on investigators. his job had given him access to the investigation all along. >> and so it became revealed that he did, in fact, have knowledge of the help that was being asked to investigate the murders that he had committed. >> the alleged killer had been

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a somber evening in downtown laredo, one with tears of sadness over the tragic loss. this was the sight over at san agustin plaza where a few hours ago. candles flickered over the memories of the four victims juan david ortiz admitted to taking. >> everybody dressed in white t-shirts. some had already the picture of their daughter or whoever it was. >> and, like, this is me and all my siblings. we're wearing shirts with my mom's face. >> people from the church came by, and we were praying and we were talking. i was crying. i couldn't stop crying. >> tonight, a terrifying arrest in texas. authorities say juan david ortiz, a u.s. border patrol agent, is allegedly a calculated murderer. >> was agent ortiz or the border patrol involved in investigation? >> ortiz did have knowledge of the requests being made at the

time of melissa's murder. in his confession, he talks about downplaying the requests. >> he was the one that law enforcement asked to help them help locate this license plate, help locate somebody, a suspect, that we expect passing through this area. >> so, they're like, hey, j.d., can you check in? so, i log into my account, that's it, that's all i did. >> it was something out of a movie, because the person you were looking for is the one responsible for helping you find the person responsible. >> what do you mean a border patrol? and i was like just in shock. i was like, what's wrong with him? >> it was at that courthouse behind me that the public got their first glimpse of juan david ortiz. emotions ran high for the families of the victims who demanded justice. >> border patrol agent

juan david ortiz enters a plea of not guilty in court today. >> they bring him out in shackles. when they're bringing him back out, one of the moms, melissa's mom, starts yelling at him. [ speaking in a global language ] >> order, order. >> and she yells out in the courtroom "asasino" which is assassin. >> he turns around and smirks. >> he smirks. >> it makes you think, like, what the hell? like, no remorse whatsoever. >> juan david ortiz. you don't even want to hear his name? >> no. [ speaking in a global language ] resentment and a lot of feelings >> ortiz's legal team quickly secures a change in venue in

this high-profile capital murder case, and the trial is moved 150 miles north to san antonio. adding to the families' anguish, the pandemic delays the trial indefinitely. >> anxiety to the max. it was the longest four years of my life. >> i had lost hopes already when covid hit. >> you had lost hope. >> yeah. we're not gonna get our justice. >> the high-profile trial that was moved from webb county to bexar county is now underway. >> this case, the evidence will show, is about a man who betrayed his badge. he betrayed his country. he betrayed his family. he betrayed his community. >> in their opening statements, the defense paints ortiz as a victim of ptsd, who they claim

was prescribed a toxic mix of meds. >> they gave him a bunch of psychotic pills. you know, he's under a lot of stress. he starts drinking. and then, yes, the issue of blackouts. >> that was my biggest fear that they would go ahead and empathize with him and forget the victims, and my job was to put the victims, you know, front and center. >> we call erika pena. >> who was the most compelling witness? >> erika pena. >> without a doubt? >> without a doubt. she came forward, she went to san antonio, and she told the same story almost fact by fact. inside the truck, tell us about what you remember when he pulled the gun. >> he just pointed it right at me. >> when he pointed it at you, show the ladies and gentlemen of the jury where he pointed it

to you. >> right here at my face. >> you've got somebody who's obviously intoxicated. she says she's intoxicated, and her credibility is at issue. >> at that time, you were still getting high regularly. >> yeah, but to the point where i know what's going on. i'm -- i was high, but i'm alert. i'm still alert. >> erika pena, she stood her ground, and her testimonies were on fire. >> i know the defense tried to discredit her testimony, but her story from that day to the day she was in court years later was the exact same. when you see the dash cam video and the body cam video of that dps trooper, to when she's on the stand, it is the exact same. none of that changed. >> that was the most beautiful testimony. i know it was so hard for her, and you can tell. you can hear it in her voice.

and she's my hero. >> you may step down. you're excused. >> after eight days of testimony and nearly 200 exhibits, the state rests its case. the defense also rests without calling a single witness. the defense never denies ortiz murdered these four women. still, in their closing statement, they try to convince the jury that ortiz is not a cold- blooded serial killer. >> was it really a common scheme and plan? was that really -- did he have the capacity to do that? you have to decide. >> he served his country, and when he came back and he had issues, we did not take care of him. we created that problem. we as a society did. >> and i will submit to you that given the evidence that we have, who this young man suddenly, after he starts taking these pills in february of 2018 to

become this, is this guy really a serial killer? >> ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you will be able to see, hear, and analyze the confession. you will see him lie, lie, and lie and lie. he took that first word, blackouts, and he ran with it. mr. perez comes up here and he asks, is mr. ortiz a serial killer? i'll answer that question. mr. ortiz was a serial killer then and a serial killer now. >> what really worried me about this case, that the jury would empathize with the defense. >> san antonio is actually known as military city. it's huge military community. so, i could see why mr. alaniz was concerned. and a bexar county jury is one

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presentations, twelve jurors will decide whether what was shown proves that juan david ortiz was responsible for the murders of melissa ramirez, claudine anne luera, guiselda hernandez cantu, and janelle ortiz. >> i was kind of doubting, like, oh, man, this might not go in our favor. >> you were worried? >> yeah. i was very worried. i was anxious. i was, like, sick to my stomach. i couldn't imagine what was to come. >> we the jury find the defendant, juan david ortiz, guilty of the offense of capital murder as charged in the indictment. [ speaking in a global language ] >> hearing the word guilty was just such a relief. in my mind, it was just like, okay, it's over. and tears just start rolling down.

>> that it was like -- like, i just wanted to scream, like of relief. >> wow. i had a heavy heart for four years. and when i heard it, it just went away. finally, i had my justice. and i said, now you can rot in hell. >> this guilty verdict for capital murder comes with an automatic sentence of life without parole. the possibility of death was taken off the table shortly before the trial started. >> we would have periodic meetings with -- with the surviving family members. i wanted their input. and there was one family member that stood out. >> that family member is guiselda's brother, joey cantu, who argues to spare

juan david ortiz's life. he presents his case in a passionate statement to the court. >> he said, you know, i murdered and went to prison for murder, and i served my time and i paid for what i did. >> when i was granted parole, the sister of my victim wrote me and told me that she had forgave for what i had done, and now i find myself here in front of the person who killed my little sister, and i want you to know that i forgive you and i hold no ill will towards you, man. >> did you want ortiz to face the death penalty? >> i did. i did, until i met joey. >> i had literally representatives from the victims' families come together and unanimously ask me to abandon the death penalty and pursue life without the possibility of parole, and that they felt that that was justice. >> the families of the victims

may have agreed to show mercy, but not all were willing to forgive. >> you deserve to suffer in prison and go to hell. >> you said you wanted to clean up the streets of laredo. our streets in laredo will only be clean when people like you are put away in jail forever. >> this story is not about juan david ortiz. it's about four women who horrifically lost their lives but should always be remembered for the loving women they were. >> i love to visit my mom and pray to her and just, you know, affirm her and remind her that we're okay and we're here and we're always going to miss her. >> what life do you think your mother would want you to live? >> the life i'm living. >> the life ciara is living -- she works as a clerk here at the

webb county sheriff's office -- is something she never would have thought possible. >> because i hated men in law enforcement after what happened to my mother. and like, now i've met some of the greatest people. especially captain calderon. you know, he was one of -- the main investigator in my mom's case. he's my boss now. >> what lies ahead? might you become an officer or go to law school? >> i want to. so, right now i'm getting my degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice. >> yeah. >> i think she would be so proud of me. >> we should note tonight that from prison, juan david ortiz did send "20/20" a message, which included a litany of complaints about law enforcement. >> one thing he did not mention is the four women he's convicted of murdering. he's appealing that conviction. that's our program for tonight. thanks so much for watching.

i'm deborah roberts. >> and i'm david muir. from all of us here at "20/20" and abc news, good night. other world leaders left this afternoon, wrapping up the apec summit that had taken over san francisco all week. good evening. i'm ama daetz. >> and i'm dan ashley. thanks for joining us. after months of planning and a very hectic week, the apec summit has officially come to an end. but now that it's over, how did san francisco do? and will we actually see the benefits promised by city leaders? >> abc7 news reporter tim johns went looking for the answers tonight. he's in the newsroom. tim, what u