Stunning Twist: Murder Suspect Assisted Victim's Mother

Nick Banaszak Reporter

9:10 PM CDT, April 23, 2009
HUNTSVILLE, AL - A stunning development in a tragedy that has rocked South Huntsville.

Less than one week after 19 year-old Tad Mattle and 16 year-old Leigh Anna Jimmerson were killed in a horrific car wreck, WHNT News 19 has learned of a connection between the suspect and Jimmerson's mother.

WHNT has confirmed that Jimmerson's mom Dr. Ellin Jimmerson was working on a documentary film on illegal immigration, and that one of the translators who helped convert interviews from Spanish to English was the suspect, Felix Ortega. Ortega remains behind bars at the Huntsville Metro Jail on two counts of murder. Authorities are still trying to verify Ortega's citizenship status to determine whether or not he is an illegal immigrant.

Police say Ortega rammed his vehicle into the teens' car last week at the intersection of Airport Road and Whitesburg Drive, killing both Mattle and Jimmerson. A person familiar with the project told News 19 that Ortega did the translations within the last few months.

"I don't have any words for it....it's the height of irony," said Rev. Jana Williams, a minister at Weatherly Heights Baptist Church who has assisted Ellin Jimmerson on the film. "I had to hear it two or three times before it really sunk in, and I just couldn't believe (it). I'm still in disbelief. But it has most definitely not changed her beliefs and her call to minister to this population."

Jimmerson's film is titled "Desconocida", a Spanish phrase referring to bones found in the desert belonging to unidentified illegal immigrants. Williams says Jimmerson's idea for the film came after a trip to the Mexican border a few years ago, when her daughter was still alive. The film is reportedly being narrated by actor Martin Sheen.

Dr. Ellin Jimmerson issued a brief statement on the public's response to her daughter's death. In part it reads: "Three families suffered irreparable damage on Friday night- the Jimmersons, the Mattles and the Ortegas. The damage reverberated across a city. Entire communities are devastated. But no amount of vindictiveness dressed up as calls for justice will undo our suffering...Instead of giving in to hostility and vindictiveness we choose love and redemption."

Copyright © 2009, WHNT-TV

http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-twist-tra ... 1760.story

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