RICARDO and MIGUEL RAMIREZ (and Mother) - 4 and 2 yo (2002)/ Convicted: Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco - Nyssa OR

Triple-murder suspect Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco has been returned from Mexico to Elmore County to face trial.
Lopez-Orozco is a former FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive who has been
charged in the 2002 murder of his girlfriend and her two children, whose
bodies were discovered in a burned out vehicle near the Snake River in
Elmore County
Sheriff Rick Layher said that the deaths of the two children made it
emotionally one of his most difficult cases in all his years of law
enforcement. He vowed not to rest until Lopez-Orozco was arrested and
expressed relief that the suspect was now behind bars in Elmore County.
"It's been a long time coming," he said.





Lopez-Orozco was escorted by FBI Special Agents from Mexico to Salt Lake
City, Utah, by plane on Thursday evening, Special Agent in Charge of
the FBI Salt Lake City Field office, James S. McTighe, said in making
the announcement.
After arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport, FBI Special
Agents, Sheriff Rick Layer and several of his deputies, and Idaho State
Police detectives transported Lopez-Orozco by vehicle to the Elmore
County Jail. He was booked into the jail shortly after midnight Friday
morning.
His release by Mexican authorities on a U.S. Department of Justice
extradition warrant was kept under wraps for security reasons. The FBI
will hold a press conference in Boise today at 10 a.m. to announce
Lopez-Orozco's return to the United States.
Lopez-Orozco was placed on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list in
March 2005. He was apprehended in Zihuantanejo, Mexico, by the FBI, the
U.S. Marshals Service, and the Mexican Federal Ministerial Police in
October 2009.
It took nearly a year and a half for the extradition process to make its
way through the Mexican courts, but Justice Department officials have
said it is not unusual for an extradition proceeding to take that long
in a case involving penalties as severe as those Lopez-Orozco is facing.
"The FBI extends its gratitude to the government in Mexico for its
attention to this matter," McTighe said in a prepared statement.
"By assisting in the arrest and extradition of Jorge Lopez-Orozco,
authorities in Mexico have allowed the judicial process to continue here
in the United States, specifically in Elmore County, Idaho, where
Lopez-Orozco is accused of murdering three people."
The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office also thanked the FBI's Legal Attaché
office in Mexico City, the U.S. Justice Department's Office of
International Affairs in the Criminal Division, the U.S. Department of
State, the Elmore County Sheriffs Office, the Elmore County Prosecutor's
Office and the Idaho State Police for their assistance with the
extradition.
Because Mexico will not extradite anyone facing the death penalty, Aaron
Bazzoli, who was the county prosecuting attorney at the time of the
murders, had agreed to not seek the death penalty if Lopez-Orazco was
arrested in Mexico. The current county prosecutor, Kristina Schindele,
also agreed to that stipulation when Lopez-Orozco finally was arrested
in Mexico.
If convicted, he could face life in prison, however.
A video arraignment on the murder charges for Lopez-Orozco will be held
at 1 p.m. today before Elmore County Magistrate George Hicks.The judge
will determine if Lopez Orozco is represented by his own attorney or if a
public defender will be appointed for him.
The next step in the process would typically involve holding a probable
cause hearing to determine of there is sufficient evidence to bind
Lopez-Orozco over for trial in district court. If the magistrate rules
adequate evidence exists to justify a trial, he would then be arraigned
in district court and a trial date set. The process could move slightly
faster if defense attorneys waive any of the steps.
If the case goes to trial, it could be expensive for the county.
Typically, murder cases in Elmore County have cost between $300,000 and
$500,000. Because so many of the potential witnesses in the case are
scattered throughout the country and would have to be transported here
and housed, plus the need for the defense to conduct its own
investigation and hire its own expert witnesses, the upper figure is a
likely estimate for the costs, county officials have privately conceded.

In a murder case it is not unusual for a trial to begin a year or more
after arraignment, unless a defendant pleads guilty at some point in the
pre-trail process.
* * *
Lopez-Orozco had been sought for the murder of Rebecca Ramirez, 29, and two of her seven children, Miguel, 2, and Ricardo, 4.
Their bodies had been found by two Mountain Home AFB airmen on Aug. 11,
2002, in a car that had been set on fire on Nielsen Road, also known as
Gravel Pit Road, just off the Bruneau Highway near the Snake River
Bridge in southern Elmore County. They had last been seen with
Lopez-Orozco on July 30 and authorities believe they were killed some
time on Aug. 1, 2002.
Identification of the bodies had tentatively been made based on jewelry
found on Ramirez at the crime scene. The bodies were so badly burned in
the fire, where temperatures were believed to have reached 2,000 degrees
Fahrenheit, that only DNA testing was able to confirm that.
There had been a report called in Aug. 1 of smoke in the general area
where the car was found, but no investigation had been made of the vague
report.
Both Ramirez and the 4-year-old were found to have died from gunshot
wounds, the autopsy reports  indicated. So little remained of the
younger child that forensic pathologists could not say if he also had
been shot or not.
Lopez-Orozco was not the father of either of the children.  Authorities
believe the murder was committed because Ramirez, described at the time
as Lopez-Orozco's girlfriend, had threatened to expose their affair to
his wife.
Within 24 hours of the murder, allegedly with the help of his brother, Simon, Lopez-Orozco fled the area by car.
On Aug. 8, 2002, he called from San Jose, Calif., to his home in Meadows
Trailer Park, to ask his wife and three children, including the
couple's newborn infant at the time, to join him in San Jose.  
According to a federal fugitive warrant criminal complaint filed in
United States District Court in 2002, Lopez-Orozco allegedly confessed
his crime to family members after he fled to California. Authorities
believe he stayed briefly with his relatives in San Jose, then crossed
the border and took up refuge in Mexico.
Lopez-Orozco was placed on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list on March 17,
2005, with a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and
conviction. Layher said the FBI had received a tip meriting
investigation concerning Lopez-Orozco's whereabouts almost every week
since the murders and on several occasions contacted the Elmore County
Sheriff's Office for investigative assistance.
On Oct. 7, 2009, acting on a tip from an unidentified private citizen,
the U.S. Marshal's Service and the FBI Legal Attaché, both in Mexico
City, in cooperation with the Mexican Federal Ministerial Police,
arrested Lopez-Orozco without incident while he was hauling a load of
metal into a scrap yard in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.
Elmore County Prosecuting Attorney Kristina Schindele, along with the
FBI and U.S. Department of Justice's International Affairs Division,
immediately filed for extradition.
Ramirez, was last seen with Lopez-Orozco in Nyssa, Ore., on July 30,
2002, when she dropped two of her children off at her father's house,
apparently indicating at that time that she expected to return shortly.
But she took Miguel and Ricardo with her when she drove off with
Lopez-Orozco in the Pontiac that later was found in Elmore County.
The mother of seven children in all, her three other children were
staying with other relatives at the time of her death. Several different
men were the fathers of her children. Miguel was the only one of her
children fathered by Martin Hernandez, of Caldwell, her former
common-law husband, from whom she had been divorced.
After the killings he stepped up and took responsibility for raising all
five of Rameriz's five surviving children, several of whom have now
grown to adulthood.
Rameriz's mother in Glenns Ferry had talked to Elmore County deputies, a
few days after she was last seen, about her concerns that she hadn't
been able to reach her daughter in several days, but did not follow up
by filing a formal missing person's report. Nor had her father filed a
missing person's report in Nyssa when she had failed to return to pick
up the children she'd left there.
Lopez-Orozco had lived in the Mountain Home area for six or seven years
prior to the alleged murder, although he may have been an illegal alien.

He had been arrested at least twice before in Elmore County on minor offenses, giving authorities different ages and names each time. He had
gone by several other aliases, including Raul Solario, Raul Solorio,
Jorge Orozco-Lopez, Jorge Alberto Orozco-Lopez and "Pepe," according to
FBI wanted posters that had been displayed around the country.
Sheriff Layher said that persons who knew of the relationship between
Rameriz and Lopez-Orozco did not indicate during investigative
interviews that the couple had any serious problems, however, some of
those interviewed said the couple did argue on occasion.
The initial investigation into the triple homicide, led by Chief Deputy
Nick Schilz and Detective Capt. Mike Barclay, was not easy.
It began with the license plates from the car, which was found to have half a dozen bullet holes in it.
It took nearly 24 hours to physically find the person to whom the plates
were registered. But that person, who lived in Wendell, had sold the
car to someone else. The second person was eventually tracked down, but
he also had sold the car -- to Lopez-Orozco.
In each case, the car had been re-registered under the original plates and original owner's name.
About that same time investigators also discovered Lopez-Orozco's
relationship with Ramirez, which gave them their first break in helping
tentatively identify the victims. Investigators also learned about that
same time of the phone call Lopez-Orozco had made from San Jose, asking
his family to join him.
San Jose law enforcement authorities served a search warrant on the home
there but Lopez-Orozco was not present when they did. At the time,
authorities believed he had fled to Mexico.
Over the years local authorities received a number of conflicting
reports that he was in Mexico, in the United States, and even briefly in
Elmore County, according to some reports. However, none of those
reports had been made in a timely manner and investigators were never
able to confirm them.
Ramirez had lived in the Mountain Home and Glenns Ferry area for several
years, but was living in Caldwell at the time of her death. Her mother
lived in Glenns Ferry and her father in Nyssa, Ore.
Lopez-Orozco's wife and children were last reported to have moved from
Mountain Home to San Jose, Calif., then moved on to Tijuana where
authorities lost track of them. They were not with Lopez-Orozco at the
time of his arrest and are not considered material witnesses in the
case.
Lopez-Orozco's brother, Simon, is still being sought by the FBI on accessory to murder charges.
Two of his other relatives, a brother and sister, were charged in 2002
with being accessories after the fact and harboring a fugitive. Both
entered plea agreements to cooperate with the investigation and face
lesser charges, for which they were convicted in 2003.
Leo Bardo Lopez-Orozco eventually was sentenced to six months to three
years in prison on a forgery charge related to writing a check with
Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco's name on it and Maria E. Lopez-Orozco was
sentenced to one year in jail and one year probation for
resisting/interfering with a police officer. They have since been
released after serving their sentences.

http://www.mountainhomenews.com/story/1708038.html

Idaho teen faces Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco, who's accused of killing her mother and brothers
06/16/11

MOUNTAIN HOME — Noemi Ramirez sniffed back tears Wednesday as she pointed out the man she knew a decade ago as “Pepe,” now facing three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her mother and two young brothers.

Authorities say Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco killed Rebecca Ramirez, 29, and her sons — ages 2 and 4 — nine years ago before fleeing Idaho and eventually being placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list.

He was arrested in Mexico in October 2009 and was extradited to Idaho earlier this year.

The bodies were found in a burned-out car about 15 miles south of Mountain Home.

Elmore County investigators have said that Rebecca Ramirez and Lopez-Orozco had been having an on-again, off-again affair that was well-known in the community, though Lopez-Orozco’s wife may not have been aware of it.

On Wednesday, Lopez-Orozco listened through a Spanish interpreter as Noemi Ramirez testified that she last saw her mother at her grandfather’s house in July 2002.

She said the woman left in a white car with Lopez-Orozco and the two young boys. Noemi Ramirez, 16, who was 7 at the time, said that at first she wanted to go with her mother and had joined her brothers and climbed into the car but changed her mind.

“I wanted to stay, so I got back out,” she said through her sobs.

Her testimony was part of what is expected to be a three-day preliminary hearing, after which Magistrate Judge David Epis is expected to rule on whether there is enough evidence to let the case proceed to District Court.

Liliana Pedroza Sanchez, 27, of Mountain Home testified that Lopez-Orozco was her neighbor in 1999 and 2000.

She said one of her friends received a call from him in July 2002 because his car had run out of gas.

Sanchez testified that she and her friends borrowed a container from a gas station after an employee refused to let them fill up their empty milk jugs. She said they then drove to meet Lopez-Orozco, who poured the gas into the milk jugs and put them in the trunk of his white car.

“I noticed the passenger seat of the vehicle was laid back and someone was laying there,” said Sanchez, who later went to police after seeing a local news story that said Lopez-Orozco was a murder suspect and three bodies had been found in his car.

Sanchez said she was concerned because her fingerprints were on the milk jugs.

“I didn’t want to get involved in anything serious,” she said.

Rebecca Ramirez and her young sons — two of her seven children — were killed around July 31, 2002.

Airmen from Mountain Home Air Force Base found their bodies about two weeks later.

Each had been shot in either the head or the chest.

The woman was identified, in part, because jewelry her father had given her was found with the remains, according to investigators.

Lopez-Orozco was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in March 2005, and even after he was arrested it took some 18 months to get him back to Idaho.

Mexico’s policy is not to extradite suspects who might face execution, so prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty.



Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/06/16/1690798/a-long-awaited-shot-at-justice.html#ixzz1PUm2sxR2

Triple-slaying suspect's hearing to resume August


06/17/11

BOISE, Idaho — A preliminary hearing will resume in August for a man who accused of killing his girlfriend and her two young sons, then burning their bodies in the southwestern Idaho desert before fleeing to Mexico.
Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and was once on the FBI's list of most-wanted fugitives. Authorities allege he killed 29-year-old Rebecca Ramirez and her sons - ages 2 and 4 - in the summer of 2002.
Lopez-Orozco was apprehended in Mexico in October 2009 and extradited to Idaho in March.
Mexico's policy is not to extradite suspects who might face execution, so prosecutors have agreed not to pursue the death penalty in the case.
A preliminary hearing started Wednesday in Idaho's 4th District Court, with Lopez-Orozco listening to the proceedings through a Spanish interpreter.
After two days of testimony, the hearing was continued until Aug. 3. This will allow the prosecution time to process a four-hour interview that was recorded between Lopez-Orozco and authorities while he was being transported back to Idaho to face the murder charges.
"That interview is being transcribed," said Elmore County Prosecutor Kristina Schindele.
No motive has been released, but investigators have said Lopez-Orozco was married and having an on-again, off-again affair with Ramirez. They said his wife may not have known about the affair.
Ramirez and her young sons - two of her seven children - were killed around July 31, 2002. Airmen from Mountain Home Air Force Base found their bodies about two weeks later in a burned-out 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier in Elmore County near the Snake River.
Each had been shot in either the head or the chest.
Lopez-Orozco was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list in March 2005.
Elmore County sheriff's detective Mike Barclay testified earlier this week that after Lopez-Orozco was apprehended and being transported to Idaho, his demeanor changed during questioning about the deaths of Ramirez and her sons. Defense attorney Terry Ratliff countered that was not unusual.
During testimony, Ratliff also questioned why authorities continued to interview Lopez-Orozco during that trip back to Idaho after the murder suspect said he needed an attorney. Craig Randall, a linguist who interpreted for Lopez-Orozco during that interview, testified that the man had agreed to answer those questions.


Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/06/17/1692901/triple-slaying-suspects-hearing.html#ixzz1QhI4ZtQ8

Man accused of killing three in 2002 pleads not guilty

ELMORE COUNTY -- A man accused of killing his girlfriend and her two children then fleeing to Mexico entered a plea in an Elmore County courtroom Monday afternoon.
Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco was accused of committing that crime back in 2002 when the bodies of 29-year-old Rebecca Ramirez and her two young sons, aged 2 and 4 were found burned in a car outside Mountain Home.

In court Monday, Lopez-Orozco pleaded not guilty to three counts of first degree murder. According to prosecutors, Lopez-Orozco fled the country after the crime in 2002. He was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2005 and four years later, in 2009 he was captured in Mexico.

After negotiations with the Mexican Government, Lopez-Orozco was brought back to Elmore County in March. Monday’s plea of not guilty means the case will now go before a jury.

Lopez-Orozco's defense attorney says preparing for this trial after nine years will be difficult.
"Some people have died, some people have been deported, some people have voluntarily left the country. Tracking down witnesses is going to be tough for both sides,” said Terry Ratliff, Lopez-Orozco’s Defense Attorney.
The trial is now set for February 6th; it’s expected to last about a month.
As part of an agreement with the Mexican Government the Elmore County prosecutor had to waive the right to seek the death penalty in order to get him back to the U.S.

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Man-accused-of-killing-three-in-2002-pleads-not-guilty-128214223.html

Lopez-Orozco sentenced to life for 2002 killings

by Jamie Grey, KTVB.COM
Posted on March 11, 2013 at 6:18 AM
Updated Tuesday, Nov 26 at 12:01 AM

MOUNTAIN HOME -- A Mexican national who killed his girlfriend and her two young sons has been sentenced to three concurrent sentences of life in prison with no parole.

Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco appeared before an Elmore County judge Monday morning for sentencing. The judge told Lopez-Orozco he was imposing the rare fixed life sentence because of the "heinous" nature of his crimes.

"In this situation, because the crime is so totally unexplainable, and so totally senseless, the court feels that the risk to the community if Mr. Orozco were to be returned to them, would always be present," Judge Timothy Hansen said.

Orozco has been wanted in connection with the crime for over a decade. Prosecutors say he shot and killed Rebecca Ramirez and her two young sons in the summer of 2002.

Investigators say he shot all three 'execution style' in the head or the chest. The 36-year-old is also accused of burning their bodies inside a car near the Snake River.

Lopez-Orozco was eventually arrested after he fled to Mexico, and was extradited to the United States in 2009. Because Lopez-Orozco agreed to be extradited to Idaho to face trial, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against him.

"I just want him to look at me and remember my mom's face. And while he's locked away, I want him to see her face everyday and think about what he did," Rebecca Ramirez's daughter Noemi Ramirez said during sentencing.

After sentencing, Noemi Ramirez told KTVB she feels like things are "finally over" and they can begin to move on.

"To be honest, I wanted him to get the death penalty. But now that I think about it, I'm really happy he got life because the death penalty, he'd be let off easy," Ramirez said.

Since the murders, Martin Hernandez has cared for Noemi and her siblings, and he too says this helps in healing.

"I would hate for another family to go through what we went through. It's not fair. I think they did the right thing by stopping it here, and that's as far as he's going to get. He won't be able to intimidate or hurt another woman or child again," Hernandez said.

http://www.ktvb.com/news/crime/Man-found-guilty-of-killing-girlfriend-sons-to-be-sentenced-196842061.html