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Thread: Juan Carlos Ortega Sentenced to LWOP in 2018 CA Murder of Ana Soto and Veronica Soto Ortega

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Juan Carlos Ortega Sentenced to LWOP in 2018 CA Murder of Ana Soto and Veronica Soto Ortega


    Ana Soto and Veronica Soto Ortega


    Juan Carlos Ortega


    Husband charged with killing wife and her sister in Escondido

    By Allison Horn and Vanessa Van Hyfte
    10News

    VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - A North County prosecutor told a judge at an emotional hearing Tuesday that the husband accused of killing his estranged wife and her sister in Escondido admitted to the murders with qualifiers.

    Juan Carlos Ortega, 33, appeared in Vista court at an arraignment for last week’s deaths.

    Firefighters found the body of 26-year-old Ana Soto in a burning white SUV at the corner of Country Club and Kauana Loa drives in the Harmony Grove area Thursday morning.

    A trace on the SUV’s license plate led to a home on West 11th Avenue, where police found the body of Veronica Soto Ortega. Two young children were sleeping inside the house and taken into protective custody.

    About 14 hours after the discovery of his wife’s body, homicide detectives arrested Soto Ortega's husband, Juan Carlos Ortega, at his Carlsbad workplace, police said.

    Ortega is being held without bail. He is being charged with two counts of capital murder, which carry the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole. There is also a special circumstance of lying in wait.

    Dozens of family members attended Tuesday’s arraignment. The mother of one of the victims became emotional and had to be carried from the courtroom.

    https://www.10news.com/news/husband-...r-in-escondido
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    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Man pleads not guilty to murder in slaying of ex-wife and her sister in Escondido

    By Dana Littlefield
    The San Diego Union-Tribune

    A prosecutor said Tuesday that a man accused of killing his ex-wife and her sister in Escondido last week confessed his involvement in the killings to police, with “some qualifiers” to further explain what happened.

    Deputy District Attorney Jodi Breton confirmed in a phone interview that Juan Carlos Ortega, 33, pleaded not guilty in a Vista courtroom to two counts of murder, two counts of felony child abuse and arson of property.

    According to a complaint filed in the case, he also faces special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murders, meaning the District Attorney’s Office has the option of seeking the death penalty if Ortega is ultimately convicted.

    Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Such decisions are usually announced after a preliminary hearing has been held, when a judge would be asked to determine whether enough evidence exists for the case to go to trial.

    A Superior Court judge ordered Ortega to remain held in county jail on a no-bail status.

    Breton said in a phone interview that investigators do not believe anyone other than Ortega was involved in the killings.

    Attempts to reach Ortega’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender William Stone, by phone Tuesday afternoon were not immediately successful.

    The body of 26-year-old Ana Gabriela Soto was found early Aug. 9, when firefighters spotted her remains while extinguishing flames from an SUV near Country Club Drive and Kauana Loa Drive just east of Escondido.

    Detectives then went to the home of the SUV’s registered owner on West 11th Avenue near Centre City Parkway and found a second body — identified as 30-year-old Veronica Soto Ortega, the defendant’s ex-wife.

    Two young children were asleep inside the home, authorities said.

    Juan Ortega was arrested the same day at his job in Carlsbad.

    Breton said in a phone interview after Ortega’s arraignment that a witness reported seeing a man going back and forth between the home and a car Aug. 9. Noting what she had told the judge in court, the prosecutor said Ortega admitted to police that he was the person seen going to the car and that he was involved in the deaths.

    In an email, the prosecutor referred to Ortega’s statement as a confession, but said he also included several “qualifiers surrounding the events.” She did not elaborate on what those qualifiers were, noting she did not give details on the record in court.

    http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...814-story.html
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    Man accused of killing Escondido sisters could face the death penalty if convicted

    CBS8.com

    VISTA (CNS) - A man accused of killing his estranged wife and her sister, whose bodies were found miles apart in Escondido, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to special circumstance murder charges that could lead to the death penalty if he's convicted.

    Juan Carlos Ortega, 33, was ordered held without bail.

    What prompted the slayings remains unclear, but Deputy District Attorney Jodi Breton said Ortega confessed to the killings and said there was no one else involved.

    Ortega is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murders, two counts of felony child endangerment and one count of arson. A decision will be made later as to whether he will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if he's found guilty and the special circumstance allegations are found to be true.

    Shortly before 4:30 a.m. last Thursday, firefighters extinguishing a blaze engulfing a parked white SUV at the corner of Country Club and Kauana Loa drives in the unincorporated Harmony Grove area discovered the body of 26-year- old Ana Soto inside the vehicle, Escondido police Lt. Kevin Toth said.

    Detectives traced the charred SUV to its registered owner's residence about three miles to the east, in the 500 block of West 11th Avenue, near South Centre City Parkway in Escondido.

    Inside the home, officers discovered the body of Veronica Soto Ortega, 30. Two children found sleeping unharmed in the house were taken into protective custody and later turned over to family members, Toth said.

    The deceased sisters, who lived together in the home, had sustained traumatic injuries, according to police, who withheld further details about the nature and extent of those wounds.

    About 14 hours after the discovery of the second body, homicide detectives arrested Ortega, who was Soto Ortega's husband, at his Carlsbad workplace, Toth said.

    Ortega will be back in court Sept. 4 for a readiness conference. A preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 31.

    http://www.cbs8.com/story/38886070/m...y-if-convicted
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    Oct. 16, 2019

    Trial ordered for Escondido man accused of killing estranged wife, sister-in-law

    By Teri Figueroa
    San Diego Times Union

    An Escondido man admitted his involvement in the deaths of his estranged wife and her sister last year, and said he had been skulking outside their Escondido apartment for about an hour before slipping inside, a police detective testified Wednesday.

    Juan Carlos Ortega, 35, told police after his arrest that his estranged wife Veronica Soto Ortega and her sister Ana Soto were stabbed during a confrontation in the residence, Escondido police Detective Ross Umstot said.

    The detective testified at the Vista courthouse during a preliminary hearing for Ortega, who is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felony child abuse and arson of property. At the end of the hearing, which lasted less than a day, Superior Court Judge Earl Maas III ordered Ortega to face trial.

    Ortega also faces special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murders, meaning the District Attorney’s Office has the option of seeking the death penalty if Ortega is convicted. The office has not yet announced whether it will seek the death penalty in Ortega’s case or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The body of 26-year-old Ana Gabriela Soto was found inside a burning Ford Equinox early Aug. 9, 2018 by firefighters trying to douse the flaming SUV parked on Country Club Drive and Kauana Loa Drive just east of Escondido.

    Detectives then went to the home of the SUV’s registered owner on West 11th Avenue near Centre City Parkway and found the body of 30-year-old Veronica Soto Ortega inside her apartment.

    The Ortega couple’s two daughters — ages 4 and 5 — were asleep inside the home, authorities said. Juan Ortega was arrested later that day at his job in Carlsbad.

    On the stand Wednesday, Umstot said he and another detective spoke with Ortega after his arrest, and that Ortega’s story changed during the interview. Initially, the detective said, Ortega denied knowledge of the events, but came to admit his involvement.

    According to Umstot, Ortega said he had moved out of the apartment sometime after a failed suicide attempt in late 2017 . The detective said Ortega’s wife had filed for divorce after six years of marriage, but Ortega did not want the split.

    Afterward, according to Umstot, Ortega said he would repeatedly break to the apartment when his wife was not there, sometimes stealing her underwear. He admitted he would watch her comings and goings, according to Umstot, and would sit outside her home and listen, fearing she might be dating someone else.

    Ortega told detectives he was aware that his sister-in-law had moved into the apartment, Umstot testified.

    According to the testimony, Ortega said that before the incident, he was outside the apartment for about an hour, listening, and thought a man might have just left. Ortega went inside, where he and the sisters had a confrontation.

    Ortega told detectives that the sister was the one who produced a knife in the encounter, Umstot testified.

    Autopsies found that both women had been repeatedly stabbed. Additionally, Soto had been shot through the heart. No gun or knives linked to the case have been found. Umstot said Ortega never admitted having a gun or shooting Ana Soto.

    After the confrontation, according to Umstot’s testimony, Ortega said he grabbed lighter fluid, took the keys to the Chevy SUV and drove off with Soto. About three miles from the apartment, Ortega allegedly tossed a flaming shirt into the vehicle and left.

    He is due back in court Oct. 30.

    https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...-sister-in-law
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    January 24, 2023

    Man Sentenced to Life in Prison For Murdering Estranged Wife, Sister in 2018

    Along with two first-degree murder counts, Ortega was convicted of an arson count, two child endangerment counts, and special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and committing multiple murders

    City News Service

    A man who killed his estranged wife and her sister in Escondido was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 26 years to life in state prison.

    Juan Carlos Ortega, 38, was convicted by a Vista jury last month of first-degree murder for the August 2018 deaths of 30-year-old Veronica Soto Ortega and 26-year-old Ana Soto.

    Ortega was accused of stabbing his wife Veronica Soto to death, and stabbing and shooting her sister Ana Gabriella Soto before putting her body in her SUV and setting it on fire.

    Prosecutors said Ortega killed the women at his wife's apartment just after 3 a.m. Both victims' bodies were discovered miles apart from each other on Aug. 9, 2018.

    Escondido Police Department Detective Ross Umstot testified in a preliminary hearing Veronica Soto was found in her small Escondido apartment with multiple stab wounds and Ana Soto was found in a burned SUV with stab wounds and a gunshot through the heart. Ortega's two children, then ages 4 and 5, were found unharmed in the apartment.

    Ortega was arrested later that day at his workplace in Carlsbad.

    Along with two first-degree murder counts, Ortega was convicted of an arson count, two child endangerment counts, and special-circumstance allegations of lying in wait and committing multiple murders.

    In a statement, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said, "The brutality with which this defendant killed the two victims is horrendous and is sadly a disturbing example of what can happen when domestic violence escalates."

    https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...-2018/3150344/

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