Trial begins in 1997 Downers Grove slaying
Libni Ortiz was just a 15-year-old child enjoying his winter break on the morning of Dec. 27, 1997, when he heard two gunshots that would change his life.
Ortiz, now 31, testified Wednesday in the trial of the man accused of firing those shots that killed Libni's father, Jose Ortiz.
Prosecutors said Jose Ruvalcaba-Quezada, 36, formerly of Joliet, hid behind the Ortiz family's garage at 1035 Sayler St. near Downers Grove, and waited for Jose Ortiz to leave for work.
As Jose Ortiz, 39, walked toward the garage, Ruvalcaba-Quezada surprised him and fired six shots from a 9 mm handgun, Assistant State's Attorney Steve Knight said.
Ruvalcaba-Quezada was a “lousy shot,” Knight said, but one bullet still struck Ortiz in the chest and killed him.
Knight said another man, known only as “Chongo,” who Ortiz knew from living in Mexico, wanted Ortiz dead and paid Ruvalcaba-Quezada as much as $3,000 to commit the murder.
“(Ruvalcaba-Quezada) gunned (Ortiz) down like a wild animal in the woods,” Knight said. “And he did it because he had made a deal. 'Pay me money, I kill Jose.' That was the deal.”
Christina Ramirez, who was dating Ruvalcaba-Quezada at the time of the slaying, testified that she saw him and “Chongo” counting a pile of money “between $3,000 and $5,000” the night before the shooting and that Ruvalcaba-Quezada told her he “had to shoot someone in the morning” but she didn't take him seriously.
“He was just a very nice, happy-go-lucky person,” Ramirez said.
Libni Ortiz said he ran outside as soon as he heard the shots and found his father, struggling to breathe and speak, sprawled on the sidewalk in a pool of blood.
“I comforted him and wanted to be by him, but I knew I had to call 911,” Libni Ortiz said. “It was like the 100 meter dash to get to the phone.”
Sheriff's deputies testified they arrived within two minutes of the call and searched the area but found no suspect. They didn't identify Ruvalcaba-Quezada until 2000 and he was not charged with the murder until 2008.
Prosecutors said Ruvacaba-Quezada fled Illinois after the shooting. He was deported to Mexico in 1999 after becoming the target of an unrelated rape investigation in Utah, then illegally returned to the U.S. in 2003 and lived under a false identity with his wife in South Carolina.
During the rape investigation, authorities recovered a diary in which he allegedly described receiving “good pay” to shoot a man with a 9 mm firearm as the victim left home for work, prosecutors have said.
Authorities filed charges in 2008 but did not locate Ruvalcaba-Quezada until last year in a South Carolina restaurant.
“At no time did justice fall asleep and at no time did justice forget about this guy,” Knight said, pointing at Ruvalcaba-Quezada.
Prosecutors have said he was “crystal clear” in a videotaped police interview that he killed Ortiz for money.
Ruvalcaba-Quezada's attorneys, however, say justice hasn't been served for their client, who they maintain is innocent.
“There is no gun. there is no DNA and there are no independent witnesses,” said Deputy Chief Public Defender Ruth Walstra. “There is no link between my client and this crime, whatsoever.”
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday morning with the case going to the six-member jury soon after.