Crime & Safety
Elmhurst Man Killed Woman, Left Body In Lake County: Police
The man repeatedly stabbed the woman at his house after she arranged to meet him, authorities said.
ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst man was accused of killing a woman at his house and then leaving her body near a Lake County road, authorities said Tuesday.
Santino Ortiz, 22, who lives in the 600 block of West Belden Avenue, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and concealment of a homicidal death, police said.
Police said Ortiz killed Claudia Mojarrieta-Matos, 21, of Greenacres, Florida.
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About 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Elmhurst police got a 911 call about a missing woman, identified as Mojarrieta-Matos.
The caller told police that he dropped off the woman about 1 a.m. in the 600 block of West Lorraine Avenue, so she could meet Ortiz, police said. Lorraine is a block away from Ortiz's house.
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About 15 minutes after the drop-off, the woman called the man, who then contacted the police. The caller said he heard a struggle and Mojarrieta-Matos crying, followed by the abrupt end of the call, police said.
The man returned, but couldn't find Mojarrieta-Matos. He then called 911.
Police identified Ortiz as the suspect. After they interviewed him, they took him into custody, DuPage County prosecutors said in a news release.
Police said Ortiz solicited Mojarrieta-Matos for prostitution and arranged to meet her on Lorraine Avenue.
When she arrived, Ortiz led her into his garage, forced her to the ground face down and repeatedly slammed her head on the garage floor, police said.
He then got a knife from his pocket and repeatedly stabbed Mojarrieta-Matos from behind, police said.
Ortiz then wrapped her head in a garbage bag and put her body in a garbage can, prosecutors said.
About 8 a.m., he put her body in his pickup truck and discarded her body in a rural area near Lake County's Wadsworth, among the brush and trees about 40 feet from the roadway, police said.
The Lake County Coroner's Office found Mojarrieta-Matos had been stabbed seven times in the face and head, prosecutors said.
Ortiz was ordered to stay in the DuPage County Jail until his trial.
Over the weekend, an alert was put out on social media for Mojarrieta-Matos. Her photo was included.
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