Samuel Hernández Ventura, 48, was released Monday after six months in jail under a habeas corpus petition, which allows a defendant to request release after six months without a trial. He is charged in the killing of José Luis Ortiz Peña, 27, the son of his ex-partner, which occurred February 26 in Ceiba. Hernández Ventura allegedly attacked the young man around 6:55 AM that day while Ortiz Peña worked as a groundskeeping employee for the town along PR-3 in Ceiba.
After ending his relationship with Ortiz Peña’s mother in September of the previous year, he allegedly threatened to "tear out her heart," according to a police theory shared that day. His car was found February 28 on PR-185 in Canóvanas, but he did not turn himself in until March, after weeks as a fugitive. He faces 10 charges for murder, weapons law violations, threats and intimidation, and bail had been set at $5 million.
He has a prior record for possession of stolen vehicle parts, for which he was booked July 6, 2022. The victim’s father, José Luis Ortiz, denounced to Telenoticias that the prosecutors’ office did not inform him of the release, saying, "Today he is enjoying freedom while my son does not have that right." The court handling the habeas corpus petition was not named in the report.