Bio

Ignacio Alberto Ortiz was born on December 21, 1941. At some point, Ortiz became involved in an affair with a woman named Manuelita McCormack. During this time, she was separated from her husband and they had a close relationship. Ortiz's life began to take a turn when Mrs. McCormack reconciled with her husband. After this reconciliation, she ended her affair with Ortiz. This was a significant moment for Ortiz, as it deeply affected him emotionally.

Ortiz's feelings of jealousy and betrayal became evident during this period. This conflict would later play a pivotal role in the events that occurred on December 21, 1978, when Ortiz visited the McCormack home.

Murder Story

Ignacio Alberto Ortiz was involved in an affair with Manuelita McCormack, who was the mother of his godson. When Manuelita reconciled with her husband, Ortiz attempted to rebuild their past relationship. On December 21, 1978, Ortiz went to the McCormack residence while Mr. McCormack was away. He attacked Manuelita by strangling and stabbing her.

In addition to hurting Manuelita, he also stabbed her two daughters, who were aged 8 and 9 at the time. After the stabbings, Ortiz poured gasoline throughout the house and over Manuelita's body. He set up a delayed ignition device in the house and told the children to remain inside until the fire department arrived. The children were able to escape, but their mother did not survive the attack.

Following the incident, Ortiz was arrested and charged with murder. While in prison, he attempted to plan the murders of the remaining family members to eliminate witnesses but was unsuccessful. During the investigation, Ortiz claimed he was at home sleeping at the time of the crime. However, evidence linked him to the attack, including the knife and gasoline can found in his possession and a matchbook with his fingerprints on it. A neighbor also testified that Ortiz's truck was parked behind the McCormack house during the murder.

On October 27, 1999, after spending 21 years on death row, Ignacio Ortiz was executed by lethal injection. His execution took place at 3:04 PM, and he was pronounced dead at 3:05 PM. Before his execution, he stated his final words, expressing his faith. He did not apologize to the victim’s family, who were present during the execution.