Arturo Ortega Garcia, 69, of Mexico City, Mexico has been extradited to the United States. He is accused of murdering Francisco Clive Santoni Thornhill, Maria Concepcion “Connie” Villa and Dante Santoni Villa of El Paso, Texas, United States on August 11, 1994.
Francisco was 59 and Connie was 28. Dante was 3.
Francisco Santoni
Connie was Francisco’s girlfriend and Dante is their son. Francisco is Luis Santoni and Anna Rosalina Thornhill‘s son while Connie is Nicholas Villa and Maria T. Villa‘s daughter.
Francisco owned an international auto parts business. Connie was a travel agent.
On August 11, 1994, El Paso Police Department officers found Francisco, Connie and Dante’s bodies inside their two-story stucco home, which is behind Montwood High School in El Paso. Each of the three had at least 10 stab wounds.
Both Francisco and Connie were found dead on the floor of the master bedroom. In a separate room, Dante was found face-down on his bed.
There was no sign of forcible entry. Jewelry and clothing were stolen from the house and the family’s 1994 Dodge Colt was missing.
Arturo Ortega Garcia
In 2015, technological advancements resulted in the identification of Ortega as a suspect in the fatal stabbings. A warrant for his arrest was issued but his whereabouts were unknown.
In 2020, Ortega was arrested in Mexico City for an unrelated crime. On November 4, 2022, he was extradited from Mexico City and the U.S. Marshal’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested him in El Paso.
Ortega was booked into the El Paso County Detention Center in El Paso. His bond was set at $5 million.
On November 15, 2022, Ortega was arraigned in court in El Paso. Represented by his appointed attorney Leonard Martinez, the Mexican man pleaded not guilty to capital murder of multiple persons.
From Mexico City to El Paso
Separated by roughly 1,100 miles, Mexico City and El Paso share deep historical, cultural, and economic ties that bridge the U.S. and Mexico. Once connected by the historic El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro—a major Spanish colonial trade route established in the 16th century—both cities evolved as pivotal hubs for commerce, migration, and international exchange.
Mexico City stands as the largest metropolis in North America, renowned for its centuries-old architecture, rich indigenous heritage, and global economic influence. In contrast, El Paso, situated on the northern bank of the Rio Grande in western Texas, serves as a vital international gateway. Combined with its contiguous Mexican neighbor, Ciudad Juárez, El Paso forms one of the largest binational urban centers in the Western Hemisphere, boasting a combined metropolitan population exceeding 2.4 million residents and a distinct Hispanic-majority cultural identity.
CONAN Daily 