Victim Identified Defendant Before He Died
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been indicted on first-degree Murder and additional charges in the killing of an 18-year-old man whom he stabbed and set on fire in an apartment building hallway because he was upset about his sister’s relationship with the victim.
District Attorney Clark said, “The victim, Winston Ortiz, was a family-oriented, churchgoing young man who had his life cut short in a horrific way. The defendant allegedly stabbed the victim and then while he was still alive, set him on fire. We will get justice for him and help his parents and siblings as they grapple with the disturbing, gruesome death he suffered.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Adones Betances, 22, of 1100 University Avenue, was arraigned today on first and second-degree Murder and first-degree Manslaughter before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Michael Gross. Remand was continued and the defendant is due back in court on January 14, 2021.
According to the investigation, at approximately 3:00 p.m. on August 12, 2020 the victim, Winston Ortiz, 18, was inside 1045 Woodycrest Avenue when Betances allegedly went up to him and began to argue with him. The defendant was allegedly upset about his sister’s relationship with the victim. Betances allegedly stabbed Ortiz multiple times in the chest and back, then poured an accelerant on him and set him on fire. The defendant then fled the scene. Neighbors heard the victim screaming in the hallway and came out, put out the fire and called 911. The victim identified the defendant when speaking to first responders at the scene. Ortiz was taken to Harlem Hospital and was pronounced dead a few hours later.
District Attorney Clark thanked Detective Arelis Dubose of Bronx Homicide Task Force and NYPD Detective Claudio Velez and NYPD Officers Vanessa Solis and Danielle Martinez, all of the 44th Precinct.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
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