PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Bay County teenager Abel Ortiz’s murder trial is continuing on Wednesday and Thursday. He and two others allegedly shot 31-year-old Ed Ross in 2019 in an attempted robbery.
“I mean he was my only son,” Ross’ father Ken Ross said. “And our family lineage ended with his death.”
Getaway driver Joshua Campbell said Ortiz began “firing like a circus” once he entered Ross’ home. Prosecutors said Ortiz fired seven times, emptying his clip.
“The defendant shot a total of seven times with a .22 with the last shot in the back as the victim lay helpless on the ground,” Prosecutor Mark Graham said.
Ortiz then told his teacher that he had killed a man.
“As we was walking he said ‘Ms. Boyd can I tell you something but you can’t tell nobody,’” Teacher Samantha Boyd said. “I said ‘yes what is it,’ so he began to tell me about something that happened on Panama City Beach. And he made a statement to me, he said that he had robbed and killed someone.”
