Court documents reveal graphic details of murder of El Paso jail annex inmate
Update: ABC-7 has obtained court documents detailing Torres' murder.
The documents state that a detention officer walked into Torres' cellblock and found him lying on a bottom bunk covered in a blanket. When the detention officer pulled back the blanket, he found Torres with his head wrapped in a bloody plastic bag and earphones around his neck.
The detention officers removed the four other inmates in the cell: Ortiz, Manuel Alejandro Vargas, George Lopez, and Jovani Dionicio Ramos.
Investigators got the video of Torres' death. Court documents state the four inmates in the cell, as well as two others, Jesus Adrian Rocha and Christian Carrillo, started hitting Torres. Court documents state Ortiz and Vargas punched and kicked Torres while he was on the floor. At some point, officials say the suspects also struck Torres with a wooden cane.
Court documents state that Carrillo and Ramos acted as lookouts and Lopez helped clean up blood. The alleged murder took about an hour, court documents state.
An unnamed witness told investigators he heard Torres screaming and asking the suspects to let him go. The witness also claimed the motive behind the murder was gang related. The witness also related hearing Vargas say Torres "wouldn't die so he grabbed him by the neck and punched him in the scrotum until he stopped moving and stabbed him in the eyes."
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Six men now face murder charges after a 57-year-old was killed at the El Paso County Jail Annex on Monday, November 27th.
Among the group being accused of 57-year-old Jesus Torres' killing, is 18-year-old Juan Alberto Ortiz, who has been charged with Capital Murder, and faces a $1,000,000 bond.
ABC-7 reached out to the District Attorney's office and asked why Ortiz is being charged with Capital Murder. ABC-7 was told it is because the 18-year-old has a "pending murder case."
Ortiz was arrested in December of 2022 after allegedly shooting his mother, according to El Paso Police.
The other five suspects in Monday's death the Jail Annex are all charged with murder, and each face a $750,000 bond.
