Jose Juan Vergara Ortiz PHOENIX - Court documents are providing new details on a cold case involving a deadly stabbing that happened in the Phoenix area over a decade ago. The suspect in this case was recently found, and he has been taken back to the Valley. Here are the details.
Court documents identified the suspect as Jose Vergara Ortiz. Meanwhile, a statement released by Tempe Police on Nov. 15 lists the suspect's full name as Jose Juan Vergara Ortiz.
Ortiz, per court documents, was 32 years old at the time he returned to the Valley. At the time the deadly incident happened, Ortiz was 16. 2008 In court documents, investigators wrote that the cold case happened during the evening hours on Dec.
27, 2008, at an apartment in the area of McKellips and Scottsdale Roads in Tempe. The victim, per court documents, was stabbed inside his apartment, and died after he was taken to the hospital. While court documents did not mention the victim's name, Tempe Police identified the victim as 20-year-old David Lopez.
Per Tempe Police, Lopez showed up on the doorstep of a neighbor, asking them to call 911. "Before his death, he told police and a neighbor that he was stabbed by an unknown Hispanic male who stole $1,000 from him," read a portion of the court documents. "It was learned from victim's family and friends that he did not own a vehicle, but possessed $1,000 due to him being in the market to purchase a vehicle.
" Investigators say surveillance video shows the victim entering the bus.
