FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Dec. 2, 2014

            The Seminole County Grand Jury returned a first-degree murder indictment Tuesday (December 02, 2014) against Joshua Ortiz, 20, for the Oct. 19 death of Jacqueline Ortiz, his 45-year-old mother. Jacqueline Ortiz was asphyxiated at their home at 3477 Woodley Park Place, Oviedo.

            The grand jury also charged Joshua Ortiz with grand theft of his mother’s Ford Mustang convertible. Law enforcement issued an alert for the car and the young man after the murder was discovered and officers in Maryland apprehended Joshua on the highway. He was returned to Seminole County on Nov. 2 and has been held without bond in the Seminole County jail.

            The grand jury heard testimony from a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Investigator and a Medical Examiner before returning the indictment, said Assistant State Attorney Stacey Salmons who presented the case.