Immigration and Customs Enforcement has issued a detention request for a 29-year-old Guatemalan man charged with murdering two women in a violent September 8 attack at a Burien apartment complex.
King County prosecutors filed two counts of first-degree murder Monday against Marvin Ortiz-Montecinos, who allegedly killed his girlfriend Victoria Aparicio Cruz and her roommate Yaneth Gomez-Hernandez at the Montrose apartments on South 152nd Street.
ICE officials confirmed Ortiz-Montecinos is in the United States illegally and characterized him as representing serious public safety threats. “Ortiz is alleged to be one of the worst of the worst criminal aliens who pose a threat to the security of our communities,” an ICE spokesperson stated.
According to charging documents, investigators believe Ortiz-Montecinos became enraged after Cruz ended their romantic relationship. Both women were stabbed dozens of times inside the apartment, with court records describing “incredibly violent” injuries including severed neck arteries and spinal cord damage.
King County Sheriff’s Office detectives allege Ortiz-Montecinos attempted to cover up the murders by inflicting superficial wounds on himself and fabricating a story about a Black male intruder who supposedly attacked all three victims randomly.
However, physical evidence contradicted his account. Investigators found no signs of forced entry, no indication of additional perpetrators, and no blood trails supporting his version of events. Medical staff at Harborview Medical Center treated only superficial injuries on Ortiz-Montecinos.
Crime scene evidence, including blood patterns, a buried knife consistent with the victims’ wounds, and bloody footprints matching the defendant’s footwear, led investigators to conclude he was the sole perpetrator.
Ortiz-Montecinos remains held in King County Jail on $10 million bail, which prosecutors requested citing flight risk concerns due to his wife and children residing in Guatemala.
The ICE detainer means federal immigration authorities would take custody of Ortiz-Montecinos upon any release from local detention, though he currently faces potential life imprisonment if convicted on the murder charges.
The case highlights intersection issues between local criminal prosecution and federal immigration enforcement, particularly involving violent crimes committed by individuals unlawfully present in the United States.
Washington state law prohibits releasing booking photographs, and ICE officials indicated they lack current images of Ortiz-Montecinos since he remains in county custody rather than federal immigration detention.
The domestic violence-motivated double homicide has shaken the Burien community, where residents expressed shock about the brutal nature of the crimes and the attempted deception following the murders.
