Thread: Man suspected of slashing soccer coach flees to Mexico

Man suspected of slashing soccer coach flees to Mexico

Laura Byrne
10/11/2012

A key suspect in the brutal murder of a 25-year-old youth soccer coach ran away to Mexico City on Tuesday.

The suspect, Orlando Orea, who also goes by the names Orlando Gutierrez and Orlando Estevas, purchased an Aero Mexico flight ticket paid in cash just moments before the plane took off from Kennedy International Airport Tuesday morning, an official told The Associated Press. Orea did not buy a return flight.

Detectives placed Orea on a no-fly list when they discovered his name that afternoon, 12 hours after Orea’s flight had already left.

Orea, 32, is an illegal immigrant and returned to his home country using his Mexican passport. He is suspected of murdering Michael Jones, 25, who was found slashed to death with his ear cut off around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The men were seen together on a busy street corner in Manhattan that night.

Jones had gone out with his girlfriend that night, but the couple parted ways close to midnight. Police later found Jones laying on the sidewalk, and he was taken to Bellevue Hospital before being pronounced dead.

The suspect donned a dark jacket with his hair in a ponytail in the surveillance footage released by the police. Officials are unsure of the motive but believe it may have been a case of mistaken identity. The suspect was in a bar fight at Bunga’s Den close to the crime scene earlier than night, and witnesses saw him with a knife.

Jones was a coach with the New York Red Bulls Youth Training Program and lived in West Harrison in Westchester County, but he was originally from Liverpool, England.

The Major League Soccer team, the New York Red Bulls, held a memorial Wednesday honoring their friend in Westchester County.
Red Bulls coaches wore uniforms with the name “Jonesy” on the back comforting Bryeanna Murphy, Jones’ girlfriend, the New York Daily News reported.

Lucas Kaehr, 9, who Jones coached, said at the service, “He was more than just a great coach, he was a great friend. I loved coach Mike.”

During the service, Perry Jones spoke to the 500 mourners through a phone message.

“He enjoyed being in America. He loved his job. He loved the people and all the friends he made there,” Perry Jones said, according to the Daily News.

Perry Jones wants to bring his son’s body back home to England. “We just want to get Mike back here as quickly as we can really and finish off what’s going on in America,” Jones told the Daily News of New York.

Read more: Man suspected of slashing soccer coach flees to Mexico | The Daily Caller

October 12, 2012 9:40 AM

Michael Jones Murder: Suspect Orlando Orea says 'sorry' in note before fleeing to Mexico, NYPD says

October 12, 2012



(CBS) NEW YORK - The murder suspect in the stabbing death of New York youth soccer coach Michael Jones left a handwritten note saying he was "sorry" before fleeing to Mexico, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said Thursday.
CBS New York reports that Orlando Orea wrote the note to his brother, saying, "I love you. I hope you can forgive me. I'm sorry."

Kelly said that although the note contains a statement of apology, he wouldn't call it a confession. The note was discovered in Orea's Ridgewood apartment in Queens while police are continuing to locate him.

"We know the village that he's from in Mexico, so hopefully we'll be able to have the Mexican authorities locate him and take him into custody," Kelly said. "We are in contact with the state department, with the legal attaché in Mexico, with Interpol. We will most likely be sending personnel there shortly."

Police said 25-year-old Jones was found in a pool of blood around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. One of his ears was reportedly cut off. Jones was pronounced dead on arrival at Bellevue Hospital.

Orea, 32, was reportedly in a bar fight earlier that night, but Jones was not part of the argument. The fatal slashing was likely a case of mistaken identity, police said.

Authorities said Orea, also known by the aliases Orlando Gutierrez or Orlando Estevas, bought a one-way ticket to Mexico City just moments before it was scheduled to leave from John F. Kennedy Airport on Tuesday morning.

The NYPD is working with Queens District Attorney Richard Brown to indict Orea, which will be necessary in order to extradite the suspect to the U.S. when he's located in Mexico.

Jones was a native of Liverpool, England and a coach with the New York Red Bulls Youth Training Program. He lived in West Harrison, in Westchester County.

The New York Red Bulls, a Major League Soccer team, plan held a memorial for Jones on Wednesday in Westchester County.

Michael Jones Murder: Suspect Orlando Orea says 'sorry' in note before fleeing to Mexico, NYPD says - Crimesider - CBS News

Deport the brother ... JMO