Post by CCADP on Aug 23, 2005 6:17:17 GMT -5
Officials offer only names of trio, charges in murder case
Three men held in jail since July are arraigned in the stabbing death of a 48-year-old Hillsboro woman
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
HOLLY DANKS
HILLSBORO -- Three men were arraigned Monday after a five-month investigation into the fatal stabbing of a 48-year-old woman in her Hillsboro apartment.
Jorge Reyes Sanchez, 22, of Forest Grove and Jose Guadalupe Cazares Mendez, 32, of Hillsboro face the death penalty in the killing of Jessie Mary Valero, who lived in the 800 block of Southeast 11th Avenue.
Each was charged with two counts of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, and one count each of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.
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According to the indictment handed down Friday, the two killed Valero while trying to cover up their identities in the robbery and burglary, making it a capital crime.
Jose Luis Lugardo Madero, 25, of Hillsboro was charged with two counts of murder, and one count each of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary. He was not charged with trying to cover up his identity.
Police and prosecutors are being extremely tight-lipped regarding the case. No information other than charges and names was released, and police did not publicize the arrests before the arraignments.
"It is a very complex case," said Cmdr. Chris Skinner of the Hillsboro Police Department. "All I can say is that as a result of exhaustive investigation over many months, we made three arrests on these three individuals."
Cazares Mendez has been in the Washington County Jail since July 24 on warrants charging him with methamphetamine possession and stealing a car. Skinner said Reyes Sanchez and Lugardo Madero have been held since late July as material witnesses in the Valero stabbing.
Nearly two dozen of Valero's relatives and friends gathered at the jail court for Monday's arraignment. They declined to comment.
At Valero's apartment complex, relatives and friends described her as a happy, sweet woman who got along with everyone and was always ready to help. She lived alone in the Park Side Apartments, behind Shute Park Plaza.
Valero had just gotten a job at the then-new Little Caesars pizza restaurant a few blocks from her apartment. When she didn't show up for opening day, employees asked her son to check on her.
Police said Valero's body was found on the living room floor, under a sheet and pillow. They found no signs of forced entry.
The next hearing for the men will be Aug. 30, and their trial is set for Oct. 20.
Holly Danks: 503-221-4377; hollydanks@news.oregonian.com
Three men held in jail since July are arraigned in the stabbing death of a 48-year-old Hillsboro woman
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
HOLLY DANKS
HILLSBORO -- Three men were arraigned Monday after a five-month investigation into the fatal stabbing of a 48-year-old woman in her Hillsboro apartment.
Jorge Reyes Sanchez, 22, of Forest Grove and Jose Guadalupe Cazares Mendez, 32, of Hillsboro face the death penalty in the killing of Jessie Mary Valero, who lived in the 800 block of Southeast 11th Avenue.
Each was charged with two counts of aggravated murder, three counts of murder, and one count each of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.
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According to the indictment handed down Friday, the two killed Valero while trying to cover up their identities in the robbery and burglary, making it a capital crime.
Jose Luis Lugardo Madero, 25, of Hillsboro was charged with two counts of murder, and one count each of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary. He was not charged with trying to cover up his identity.
Police and prosecutors are being extremely tight-lipped regarding the case. No information other than charges and names was released, and police did not publicize the arrests before the arraignments.
"It is a very complex case," said Cmdr. Chris Skinner of the Hillsboro Police Department. "All I can say is that as a result of exhaustive investigation over many months, we made three arrests on these three individuals."
Cazares Mendez has been in the Washington County Jail since July 24 on warrants charging him with methamphetamine possession and stealing a car. Skinner said Reyes Sanchez and Lugardo Madero have been held since late July as material witnesses in the Valero stabbing.
Nearly two dozen of Valero's relatives and friends gathered at the jail court for Monday's arraignment. They declined to comment.
At Valero's apartment complex, relatives and friends described her as a happy, sweet woman who got along with everyone and was always ready to help. She lived alone in the Park Side Apartments, behind Shute Park Plaza.
Valero had just gotten a job at the then-new Little Caesars pizza restaurant a few blocks from her apartment. When she didn't show up for opening day, employees asked her son to check on her.
Police said Valero's body was found on the living room floor, under a sheet and pillow. They found no signs of forced entry.
The next hearing for the men will be Aug. 30, and their trial is set for Oct. 20.
Holly Danks: 503-221-4377; hollydanks@news.oregonian.com