Santoni Family Murder Case: Texas Suspect Arturo Ortega Garcia Extradited From Mexico for the 1994 Killings

Texas suspect Arturo Ortega Garcia was extradited from Mexico for the Santoni family murder case, which took place more than 28 years ago.

U.S. Marshals and the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force found Ortega Garcia in Mexico City on November 4. He was then extradited back to the United States for arraignment, as reported by Fox News.

In 2015, he was identified as a suspect when the Santoni family murder case was reopened. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but police noted that the Texas suspect could not be found at the time.

In 2020, investigators discovered that Ortega Garcia was arrested in Mexico City. He remained there until he was extradited on November 4.

Ortega Garcia's victims were known to be Francisco Santoni, 59, Maria Concepcion "Connie" Villa, 28, and three-year-old Dante Santoni.

At the time, limitations of technology could not develop into workable leads despite the investigators had recovered evidence from the crime scene.

El Paso Judge Ruben Nunez set Ortega Garcia's bond at $5 million. The Texas suspect's crime is punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Santoni Family Murder Case

On Aug. 11, 1994, Connie, Francisco, and Dante were found stabbed to death inside their home behind Montwood High School.

Detective Jim Holland noted in 1997 that there was an "intensive, full-blown task force" on the case for weeks. However, all leads were then exhausted, according to an El Paso Times report.

Investigators believe that Connie was killed first in the bedroom of the family home after midnight. The suspect then walked into the toddler's room and stabbed him repeatedly as he lay in his bed.

The intruder was in the hallway when Francisco came home. He was the owner of an international auto parts business Like the rest of his family members, he was stabbed repeatedly and his body was later found in the same bedroom as Villa.

The suspect removed some clothing and other items from the master closet and took them to the family's 1994 Dodge Colt in the garage. Police said that clothing and jewelry were stolen from the house.

Newspaper archives noted that the family's car was found in El Paso more than a dozen miles away from the home after the killings.

The murder case remained open for nearly three decades as the trial grew cold.

U.S. Cold Case Rates

Analysis of Federal Bureau Investigation statistics noted that the murder clearance in the U.S. has plummeted to its lowest point in more than 50 years.

Clearance of a case means that law enforcement officials have made an arrest or closed the case due to other reasons.

In the last seven months of 2020, most murders went unsolved, according to Thomas Hargrove, who runs the Murder Accountability Project.

Only 54% of homicides were cleared through the arrest of the offender in 2020 while homicides climbed nearly 30% in the same year.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Cold case solved: Man extradited to El Paso, charged in three homicides from 1994 - from KTSM 9 News