NBC Dateline: Who were Juan David Ortiz's victims?

During a course of 12 days in September 2018, Juan David Ortiz, a Border Patrol intel supervisor, picked up four s*x workers and drove them to remote locations in Laredo, Texas, where he fatally shot them.

The bodies of the victims, namely Melissa Ramirez, Claudine Anne Luera, Guiselda Alicia Cantu, and Janelle Ortiz, aka Nikki Janelle Enriquez, were found along roads on the city's outskirts.

Last December, Ortiz was found guilty of four counts of capital murder after a spectacular trial. He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Juan David Ortiz's case is set to be revisited on NBC Dateline's upcoming episode titled The Streets of Laredo, which will air this Friday, September 15, 2023, at 9 pm ET. The official synopsis states:

"An unexpected suspect comes to light as investigators work to solve a string of deadly shootings targeting women in the border city of Laredo, Texas. Josh Mankiewicz reports."

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Three out of the four victims murdered by Border Patrol agent Juan David Ortiz reportedly knew each other

Juan David Ortiz's would-be fifth victim Erika Peña, a s*x worker who made a narrow escape, testified at his trial that the Border Patrol agent had been her client for months at the time of the attack.

CBS further reported that Ortiz even admitted to investigators that he was a customer of most of the s*x workers he shot to death. His victims were Melissa Ramirez, 29, Claudine Anne Luera, 42, Guiselda Alicia Cantu, 35, and Janelle Ortiz, aka Nikki Janelle Enriquez, 28.

Moreover, a USA Today report stated that police believe at least three out of the four victims murdered by Ortiz possibly knew each other before their shooting deaths and were murdered in a course of twelve days starting on September 3 until September 15, 2018.

The outlet reported that Priscilla Treviño, who operates the Lagordiloca News Facebook page to post crime scene videos and other night-time activities in the city, claimed she often spotted Ramirez, Luera, and Enriquez together in the streets.

All three women were shot to death by Ortiz, a Border Patrol intel supervisor and 10-year veteran of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The killer only revealed information about Cantu's killing while confessing to the previous three murders. He then informed them about Cantu's whereabouts. She had been shot in the neck and died of blunt-force trauma to the head.

While confessing to the murders, Ortiz expressed his disgust towards s*x workers by calling them "trash" and "so dirty" and insisted that his motive behind the killings was to "clean up the streets."

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Juan David Ortiz's arrest came after his would-be fifth victim, Erika Peña, reported him to the police

Reports state that Juan David Ortiz confessed to the murder of Melissa Ramirez, claiming he was "angered" when she passed out in his car after injecting the drugs he had bought her.

According to the arrest affidavit, Claudine Anne Luera confronted Ortiz about Ramirez's slaying while the two drove to Laredo's outskirts in his truck. He then "pulled over on the side of the road after the female became nervous and began accusing Juan David Ortiz for being the last person seen with Melissa Ramirez."

Following this, Ortiz shot Luera multiple times in the head and left her severely wounded on the roadside. A truck driver found her, and she died later at a hospital.

The USA Today report mentions that Ramirez's mother, Cristina Benavides, announced that her daughter knew Luera, who was found shot within days after her daughter's body was discovered.

Ortiz was only arrested after his would-be fifth victim, Erika Peña, informed police that she was attacked by a client and only survived the ordeal after making a narrow escape. She then identified the Border Patrol agent as the attacker.

The 39-year-old was found guilty after a spectacular trial in December last year. He was convicted on four counts of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Juan David Ortiz's crimes are to be revisited on NBC Dateline's upcoming episode.