Juan J. Ortiz

Case details

• Full name: Juan J. Ortiz
• Date of birth: 02/26/1972
• Race: White
• Gender: Male
• Court opinion reference: Supreme Court of the State of Delaware opinion 494/528 (2003)
• Offence: Murder 1st
• Date of offence: 07/06/2001
• Sentence: Sentenced to death on 09/26/2003

Timeline

• 2001 (March) — Ortiz moved into Deborah Clay’s home.
• 2001 (March 19 to May 29) — Ortiz stayed with Deborah and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Ashley, under home confinement; his monitoring device was located in the back bedroom of Deborah’s home.
• 2001 (June 26) — Ortiz returned to Deborah’s home.
• 2001 (July 4) — Ashley heard Deborah tell Ortiz he had to move out by that Sunday.
• 2001 (July 5) — Ashley tried to open her mother’s bedroom door; Ortiz was in that bedroom, unlocked it, and Ashley observed Deborah’s waterbed was deflated. Ortiz told Ashley that he tried to shoot himself but missed and shot the waterbed; he said he was going to have Deborah take him to a mental institution.
• 2001 (around 11:00 p.m.) — Ashley returned home and Ortiz appeared normal.
• 2001 (July 5) — Ashley called her mother to ask permission to go out with her friends; Deborah feared being alone with Ortiz and requested Ashley tell Ortiz that “he still had to be out by Sunday.”
• 2001 (a few days before July 6) — Brock Prichett requested possession of his guns.
• 2001 (July 5, around 7:00 a.m.) — Ortiz obtained a 6mm rifle and a 12-guage bolt-action shotgun from Robert Cox.
• 2001 (July 5, later that evening) — When Brock asked Ortiz about his guns, Ortiz told Brock he was not able to get in touch with Cox.
• 2001 (July 6, around noon) — Ashley found Ortiz at home; he told Ashley that he and her mother had not spoken the night before and that “all hell was going to break loose when [Deborah] got home “
• 2001 (July 6, around 2:00 or 2:30 p.m.) — Deborah called her friend, Amy Rust, from Mike Ratledge’s house.
• 2001 (July 6, 3:15 p.m.) — Deborah called Rust from her own home and told Rust she was about to get into the shower; Deborah requested that Rust pick her up because she was late for work.
• 2001 (July 6, afternoon) — Tonya Russell testified she saw Ortiz leave Deborah’s residence, get into his truck, and go back inside the home; Ortiz was inside for approximately three minutes, then left very quickly; Russell noticed smoke coming from Deborah’s home about fifteen to twenty minutes after Ortiz left.
• 2001 (July 6, 3:32 p.m.) — Ashley knocked on Deborah’s bedroom window and the back door; after hearing no response, Tonya called 911.
• 2001 (July 6, after 3:32 p.m.) — Amy Rust arrived and found Deborah’s home on fire; firefighters and fire trucks were already on the scene.
• 2001 (after firefighters began extinguishing the fire) — Firefighters discovered the body of a female in the bathroom; the female body appeared to have been decapitated and was Deborah Clay’s.
• 2001 (July 6, after the fire) — Police discovered duct-taped pillows with a hole and related evidence in an alcove adjacent to the bathroom; police also found a hole in the shower stall and a burned 12-gauge shotgun in one of the bedrooms.
• 2001 (after the fire) — The police located Ortiz near Millsboro and took him into custody without incident.
• 2003 (September 26) — Sentence of death imposed.

Background

Deborah Clay entered into a romantic relationship with Ortiz in 2001. Deborah was forty-one years old in July ofthat year.

In March 2001, Ortiz moved into Deborah's home. At that time, Deborah's fifteen-year-old daughter, Ashley, was living with Deborah.

Ortiz stayed with Deborah and Ashley from March 19, 2001 to May29, 2001. During that time, Ortiz was under home confinement by the Delaware Department of Corrections, and his monitoring device was located in the back bedroom of Deborah's home.

Ortiz left for a few months and returned to Deborah's home on June 26, 2001.

Ashley heard Deborah tell Ortiz he had to move out of her home by that Sunday on July 4.

Deborah requested that Ashley tell Ortiz that “he still had to be out by Sunday.” Deborah feared being alone with Ortiz at her home.

Deborah’s son, Brock Prichett, owned a 6mm rifle and a 12-guage bolt-action shotgun. Deborah and Ortiz stored those guns for Brock at Robert Cox's house.

Ortiz obtained the guns from Cox on July 5 around 7:00 a.m.

The offence

Deborah Clay was murdered at her home, which later caught fire.

An autopsy revealed that Deborah had been shot in the lower right abdomen and also had sustained a fatal shot to the right side of her head above her ear.

Firefighters discovered the body of a female in the bathroom; the body appeared to have been decapitated. The female body was Deborah Clay's.

Investigation

Firefighters and fire trucks were already on the scene when Amy Rust arrived at Deborah’s home.

The Delaware State Police responded to the scene of the fire.

Police discovered three pillows that were duct-taped together on top of the washing machine in an alcove adjacent tothe bathroom. The pillows had a hole in them that corresponded to a hole found in the paneling between the hall and the shower.

Inside the pillows, police found half of a Sabot slug. Police also located two shotgun wads in the bathroom.

Police found a hole in the shower stall that was about 22inches from the top of the tub. It was estimated that Deborah was standing about 25 inches away from the wall when she was shot while standing in the shower.

The Chief Deputy Fire Marshall concluded that the fire at Deborah's home had been started intentionally by an open flame and determined that two fires had been set: one in the center bedroom and one in the rear bedroom.

Police found a burned 12-gauge shotgun in one of the bedrooms.

Police also found an orange Philadelphia Flyers cigarette lighter after arresting Ortiz.

Arrest and custody

The police located Ortiz near Millsboro and took him into custody without incident.

Ortiz told the police that the weapon he used to shoot Deborah was in her trailer.

Ortiz stated that he was angry with Deborah and fired the shotgun at her from behind the wall while she was in the shower.

Ortiz claimed that he thought the gun was "on safe."

Ortiz stated that he went to the bathroom, saw Deborah holding her side, and dropped the gun which went off when he dropped it.

Ortiz ran from the house and traveled to the home near Millsboro, where he was eventually arrested.

Trial

Sentencing

Ortiz was sentenced to death on September 26, 2003.

Appeals

The case involved a Supreme Court of the State of Delaware opinion 494/528 in 2003.

Outcome

Ortiz received a death sentence.

Other details

Deborah told Rust she was about to get into the shower and requested that Rust pick her up because she was late for work.

Tonya Russell testified she saw Ortiz leave Deborah’s residence, get into his truck, and go back inside the home; Ortiz was inside the residence for approximately three minutes and then left very quickly. Russell noticed smoke coming from Deborah's home about fifteen to twenty minutes after Ortiz left.

Ashley noticed Ortiz was in Deborah’s bedroom when she tried to open the door on July 5. Ashley observed that Deborah’s waterbed was deflated. Ortiz told Ashley that he tried to shoot himself but missed and shot the waterbed.

Ortiz told Ashley he was going to have Deborah take him to a mental institution.