El Paso police make an arrest in a 1994 triple-murder case
EL PASO, Texas - A man in his late 60s was taken into custody by El Paso Police in connection to a capital murder case from 1994.
The bodies of three people, including a child, were discovered at a house in the 1800-block of Garden Gate on August 11, 1994.
Police investigators found evidence that did not produce any workable leads, and the murder became a cold case.
Advances in technology in 2015 allowed investigators to reopen the case.
That is when Arturo Ortega Garcia was identified as a suspect in the murders, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Police did not know Garcia's location until 2020 when investigators found out Garcia had been arrested in Mexico City.
He remained there until Friday when he was extradited by the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, and he was taken into the El Paso County Detention Facility and booked on a $5 million bond.
The three victims were identified as Francisco Santoni, 59; Concepcion Villa, 28; and Dante Santoni, 3.
