On November 23, 2009, Nancy Ortiz, age 24, of Orosi, was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Paul Vortmann to 22 years, 4 months to Life in State Prison. The defendant was convicted by a Tulare County jury on October 8, 2009 of one count of second degree murder (Baby Angelita), three counts of Felony Child Endangerment (a count for each child: Angelita, Theta Doe, and Zeta Doe), and one misdemeanor count of child abuse for
another child.

The circumstances surrounding the case were as follows: On February 10, 2005, a baby (Theta Doe) was found abandoned on a bench in the city of Orosi. The baby survived but authorities were unable to determine who the mother of the child was. On January 8, 2006, a second baby (Zeta Doe) was found abandoned in the back of a pickup truck in the same neighborhood in Orosi. Again, the baby survived and authorities were unable to determine who the mother of the child was. The third baby, Angelita, was born December 1st, 2006. According to testimony received during the trial, she was having difficulty thriving almost immediately. On December 3rd, Angelita was located in the back of a pickup truck, naked with a thin shirt covering her. Angelita died as a result of exposure and hypothermia. Again, the mother of the child was unable to be located. On July 30, 2007, a toddler was found wandering a neighborhood in Orosi. She was filthy dirty, naked, hungry and surrounded by barking dogs. Authorities were able to determine her mother was the defendant, Nancy Ortiz.

An anonymous tip was made to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office advising them that the defendant was likely the mother of all three of the abandoned children. DNA testing confirmed Nancy Ortiz was in fact the mother.

As a result of her sentence, the defendant will be sentenced to prison for 22 years 4 months in state prison. She will not be eligible for parole until the end of those 22 years and 4 months. At that point, it will be up to the California Department of Corrections to determine if she is eligible for parole. If granted parole, she will be placed on parole for the remainder of her life. She was also ordered to pay a restitution fine of $10,000.

The case was investigated by Sergeant Jim Franks of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department and prosecuted by Supervising District Attorney Janet Wise.

Contact Person: Assistant District Attorney Shani Jenkins: (559) 733-6411