When a homicide occurs, law enforcement faces a brief timeframe to gather evidence, pinpoint a motive, and identify a suspect. In certain cases, individuals accused of crimes inadvertently facilitate their own apprehension. A recent incident in Colorado involves a security guard who, notably, carried a part of the victim’s body, leading to his arrest on murder charges.
In the afternoon of Wednesday, January 10, authorities were alerted to the discovery of a lifeless body at a creek in Pueblo, Colorado. Upon their arrival, they encountered the mutilated and decapitated remains of a woman identified as Renee Portillo, prompting the classification of her demise as a homicide. Swiftly, investigators honed in on a suspect.
Two individuals, identified as a friend and roommate of 26-year-old Solomon Martinez, provided crucial information to law enforcement regarding his questionable actions. This included Martinez’s arrival at a car wash with noticeable blood and dirt on him. Allegedly, he also solicited their assistance in digging a hole and resorted to threatening one of them with a firearm when refused.
According to one witness, he witnessed the suspect dragging a woman’s body down to the creek, the same location where Portillo’s remains were ultimately discovered. The friend, in an effort to safeguard himself, recorded video footage of the incident.
During the police interview, the witness conveyed that the woman’s head had been severed from her body but was found nearby. On January 11, authorities apprehended Martinez on suspicion of causing Portillo’s death, charging him with first-degree murder. Adding to the disturbing nature of the incident, an arrest affidavit obtained by KKTV revealed that Martinez had a human hand in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
Subsequently, Martinez acknowledged Portillo as a prostitute he had picked up but refused to compensate. He admitted that the blood found in his car was likely hers but attempted to shift the blame onto the witnesses who had come forward. Presently, the suspect is incarcerated in Pueblo County Jail, held on a cash-only bond of $1 million.
