Winston Ortiz was a reserved, ecclesiastical teenager who family members said in recent days had become desperate about a breakup with his first girlfriend.
That, he was upset when they called him Wednesday afternoon, they said. He bolted from high family of Bronx’s apartment.
It was the last time they saw him alive.
At about 3 p.m., Mr. Ortiz was stabbed in the chest, ducked with a flammable liquid and then set on fire while still alive in the hallway of a nearby apartment building, police said. He died hours later in a hospital in Harlem.
The next day, police arrested his ex-girlfriend’s brother, Adones Betances, 22, on charges of abuse and murder. Detectives believed the two men had argued over Mr Ortiz’s relationship with Mrs’ sister. Betances, said a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation.
“It’s been so much pain and suffering,” said his father, also known as Winston Ortiz. ‘We got a call from one of the policemen who was at the scene. They said his last words to her were his mother’s phone number. ”
The gruesome murder in the building at 1045 Woodycrest Avenue, near Yankee Stadium, comes as New York City wrestles with a spike in violent crime. So far this year, shooting has increased nearly 75 percent in the same period last year, and homicides have increased by about 30 percent.
Mr Betances was in police custody on Thursday night, and it was unclear if he had a lawyer. When he was marched from the station house of the 44th Precinct, he told reporters, ‘I was framed.’ He was expected to appear before a judge that night.
Mr Ortiz lived a block away from where he was killed, police said. His father called him a ‘lovely boy’ who ‘wanted to make people’s lives better.’
Other family members and neighbors described him as a young man who was close to his two younger brothers and parents, and who focused on school and baseball.
A former teacher said he loved art and science, describing him as “so much potential.” He had graduated from the Metropolitan Lighthouse Charter School in the Bronx’s High Bridge neighborhood and had planned to attend college.
Days before his death, Mr. Ortiz and some of his family members had visited his aunt Victoria Cruz at her home in Virginia. During the visit, Ms. Cruz said, he appears to be crested.
“The only thing he cared about was his girlfriend,” Ms. Cruz said. He said, ‘I miss her. ‘You know, the puppy loves. I said to him, ‘You are young. You will find 2,000 more girls, trust me. ‘”
Mr Ortiz was still thinking about his future plans, his aunt said, but he had dreamed of landing a high-paying job so he could buy a house.
“He’s such a good kid that this happened to him,” Ms. Cruz admitted. “I do not know how anyone can do this to a human, let alone a child.”
Jose Suarez, a truck driver who lives one floor above the Ortiz family, said he rarely saw Mr. Ortiz socialize with other teenagers in the street. He said he could not find “one thing negative to say” about the Ortiz family.
Trishell Figueroa, also a resident of the building where Mr. Ortiz lived, reminds him that the teenager walked past her, often carrying a Bible in her hand. She said he played baseball and was “always with his family.”
“It’s heartbreaking because I’ve never seen anything but work and go to church,” said Ms Figueroa, who has lived in the building for about 14 years.
Alex Paulino, who often visits the building because his two children and her mother live there, said the news of the murder had given him goosebumps. He had attended church with the family several times, he said.
‘That’s a good family. They go to church three times a week, ‘said Mr Paulino. ‘I will not sleep, only think. Because I have both my daughters here. ”
Derek M. Norman and Edgar Sandoval contributed reporting.
