Immigrant death leads to arrest of spouse (The Sierra Vista Herald)

Immigrant death leads to arrest of spouse
Sat, 02/20/2010 - 00:13
BY BILL HESS
Herald/Review

BISBEE — A Phoenix man is being held in jail on charges he choked his wife to death earlier this month and left her body near St. David, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said.

Facing a first-degree murder charge and being held on a $2 million cash bond is 42-year-old Juan Pedro Leon, Carol Capas said Friday.

A resident alien, Leon is accused in the death of his wife, Maria Ramirez Orosco, 33, an illegal immigrant from Mexico City, Capas said.

Her body was one of three dead women’s remains found between Feb. 6 and 8 in the county. In the two other incidents, the deaths were due to exposure to the elements.

Orosco’s body was discovered on Feb. 8 hidden in some brush off Highway 80. It appeared the shoeless victim had been dragged to the site.

On Thursday, sheriff’s detectives contacted Leon in Phoenix and he came to Cochise County for an interview, Capas said.

While being interviewed, Leon said he reported his wife of 12 years missing on Feb. 4, Capas said, noting that at that time he told Phoenix police Orosco never came home on that day or thereafter, the sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

Leon then told county detectives he and his wife argued about a domestic matter as they drove from Phoenix on the night of Feb. 3 and ended up in Cochise County, Capas said.

As they traveled along Highway 80, an argument escalated and Leon said he stopped the car and pulled his wife out of the passenger side, Capas said. “Mr. Leon advised the detectives that he struggled with Orosco before getting her in a choke hold and she stopped breathing,” Capas said.

As for the other incidents involving the discovery of women’s bodies, suspected illegal immigrants whose identities are unknown:

• The remains of a woman found in Scheelite Canyon on Fort Huachuca on Feb. 6 by a soldier who was hiking in the area, while under continuing investigation by Army criminal investigators, appears to have been by natural causes. “We do not suspect foul play,” said Jeffrey Castro of the Army Criminal Investigation Command.

• The death of a woman found on Feb. 8 in an alley behind the Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was due to exposure, Sgt. Lawrence Boutte said Thursday.

On Tuesday, another woman’s body was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Willcox station, and the remains were turned over to the sheriff’s office.

Capas said the remains are of a 32-year-old woman from Puebla, Mexico, based on identification found with the remains.
The body was found off of Bennett Ranch Road east of Tombstone and the woman was found wearing a long-sleeve black shirt, blue jeans, white belt and white tennis shoes, she said. There were no signs the body had been moved or dragged and a full water bottle was found near her head, Capas said.

The Mexican Consulate in Douglas has been informed and the name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of kin.