CROCKETT, Texas (KTRE) — Two men and two minors have been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of 16-year-old Michael Ortiz, whose body was discovered on May 2 near a creek in Houston County, following his disappearance on April 29.
Emmanuel “Manny” Mata, 20, and Edgar Duarte Hernandez, 18, both from Crockett, are accused of luring and ambushing Ortiz before allegedly beating him to death with a metal pipe. Two juveniles, whose identities have not been released, were also taken into custody in connection to the brutal crime.
According to the arrest affidavit, Hernandez admitted during police interviews that the group met in a park on April 29 to plan an attack against Ortiz. They later gathered at a church on County Road 4020, where Hernandez lured Ortiz under the pretense of smoking together. Once inside a storage building near the church, Mata allegedly emerged from the woods and Ortiz was attacked.
Hernandez confessed that the beating continued even after Ortiz pleaded for them to stop, promising not to steal from them anymore. Investigators later found a blood-like substance and a bent metal pipe at the scene.
The group reportedly loaded Ortiz’s body into a truck and dumped it in a nearby creek. His body was eventually discovered by a Houston County commissioner, lying near a riverbank.
Both Mata and Hernandez face murder charges, while the minors are also in custody facing related charges. The investigation is ongoing.
