A man arrested in connection to a death at an Evans motel earlier this month likely stabbed his father more than 92 times in the room, according to an affidavit for his arrest.
Police found the victim — Jose Ochoa, 74 — with at least 92 lacerations to his chest, face and hands in an Evans motel room on Jan. 7. The Weld County coroner said several of the lacerations were imparted after Jose had died.
Evans police arrested Jose’s son — James Ochoa, 54 — on Jan. 9 in Fort Collins on suspicion of second-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body, according to Colorado court records.
About 9:15 a.m. Jan. 7, Evans police responded to a report of a dead man in a room at the America’s Best Value Inn motel, 800 31st St.
When officers arrived, they were informed the man — later identified as Jose — was found with a towel, a white coat and a Bible on top of his body, according to the affidavit. Officers found large quantities of dry and drying blood in several areas of the motel room and evacuated the scene while they waited for detectives to arrive.
Medical staff pronounced Jose dead at 9:38 a.m., according to the affidavit.
Other officers on scene spoke with hotel staff, who said Jose had checked in to the motel under his name on Jan. 4, according to the affidavit. On Jan. 5, a man wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey paid for another night for the room at the front desk.
Police quickly identified the man in the Cowboys jersey as James Ochoa from previous interactions with officers, as well as by comparing known booking photos of him with security camera footage from that day, according to the affidavit. At that same time, police also confirmed that James was Jose’s son.
Near the room’s bathroom, detectives found a broken iron covered in dry blood as well as a black knife sheath, partially hidden behind a trash can, according to the affidavit. The broken piece of the iron was on the floor next to Jose, also covered in blood, police say.
On a bed, police found a backpack containing three small knives. One had what appeared to be dried blood and was missing its sheath.
Detectives also noticed that the jacket Jose was wearing had several tears. When the coroner arrived and lifted Jose’s jacket, police found several lacerations that indicated Jose had been stabbed multiple times. The coroner also found several lacerations on Jose’s face as well as what appeared to be stab wounds to his jaw.
The autopsy determined Jose had at least 92 lacerations consistent with being stabbed, including several that seemed to have been inflicted after he had died, according to the affidavit.
Police say Jose had also suffered blunt force trauma to the head and had lacerations on his hands that indicated he tried to defend himself.
When reviewing security camera footage from the motel, Jose’s vehicle — a red 2012 Chevy Silverado that was still parked outside the motel after his death — pulled up in a parking spot near the room he rented. Jose got out of the passenger seat to unload items from the back while James got out of the driver’s seat, according to the affidavit. A third man exited the backseat, but the affidavit does not indicate who.
For the next few hours, several people entered and exited the room. Just before 6:30 p.m., James and the unknown man left the motel in Jose’s pickup, according to the affidavit.
After the two men left, the curtains of the room briefly opened several times, indicating Jose was still alive and alone in the room. Around 7:10 p.m., James arrived back at the motel alone and reentered the room, according to the affidavit.
The next day — Jan. 5 — James left and returned to the room several times, but Jose never left the room.
Around 8:30 a.m., James left the room and went straight to the dumpsters west of the room to throw something away. He started to walk away but turned around to either drop something off or pick something up from Jose’s pickup before leaving the area, according to the affidavit.
Hotel staff told police that they had checked the room since nobody had paid to stay another night but left after they saw what they believed to be a pile of clothes on the floor.
When reviewing security footage, police saw the motel’s owner enter the room several times the night of Jan. 6 — but he never stayed for more than a few seconds.
Just after 9 a.m. the next day, the owner and a hotel employee entered the room for roughly 30 seconds before leaving and reporting the dead body, according to the affidavit.
After noticing the curtains move while James was away — signifying Jose was still alive at that time — police determined James was the only other person to enter the room until Jose’s body was found.
Police arrested James on Jan. 9 in Fort Collins. He is being held on a $1 million bond ahead of a review hearing Tuesday in Weld District Court.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Affidavit: Suspect in Evans motel death believed to have stabbed his father nearly 100 times )
Also on site :
- Former USC Swimmer Presley Bard Anderson Passes Away At 34 After Battle With Cancer
- Emma Raducanu scolds opponent for trying to ‘throw me off’ with medical timeout
- Local governments in Colorado demanding more accountability from oil and gas