Docs: Man charged in 'horrific' Burien murders after girlfriend broke up with him

Man charged with murder after two women found dead in Burien, WA apartment

A man is facing two counts of first-degree murder after two women were found stabbed to death in a Burien apartment. According to court documents, the suspect, Marvin Ortiz-Montecinos, was a former partner to one of the victims.

KING COUNTY, Wash. - A man accused of killing his girlfriend and a roommate in Burien has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to court documents filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

Marvin Ortiz Montecinos, 29, is being held on $10 million bail.

The backstory:

According to a probable cause statement from the King County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to an apartment complex on Sept. 8 after a resident found a man, later identified as Ortiz Montecinos, lying in the grass with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

A trail of blood led deputies to a third-floor apartment where they found two bodies, both women with numerous stab wounds. One was identified as Yaneth Gomez-Hernandez, 32, a roommate, and the other as Victoria Aparicio Cruz, 26, Ortiz Montecinos' girlfriend.

Prosecutors allege that the two women were killed with a knife found buried near the scene. Court documents state that Ortiz Montecinos' wounds were "superficial" compared to the victims' injuries.

Prosecutors said it appeared the defendant "deliberately and cruelly" caused dozens of wounds on the women.

They added that Gomez-Hernandez "was violently and cruelly murdered simply for trying to intervene."

Dig deeper:

Cell phone messages between Ortiz Montecinos and Aparicio Cruz, recovered from her phone, show a conversation an hour before the 911 call where Aparicio Cruz confirmed she had broken up with him.

During a recorded statement with detectives at the hospital, Ortiz Montecinos claimed he fell asleep and woke to his girlfriend's screams. He said he found both women dead and was then stabbed by an unknown "black male with long hair" who was hiding in the bathroom.

Detectives noted inconsistencies in his story, including his claim that the suspect left the front door open, while evidence suggested the door had been manually locked from the inside as Ortiz Montecinos left.

What's next:

Prosecutors requested the high $10 million bail due to the severity of the alleged crimes and concerns that Ortiz Montecinos, who has family in Guatemala, might flee the country.

"Simply put, this crime was horrific," prosecutors wrote.

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