KENNEWICK — A career criminal is believed to have ambushed an elderly Pasco woman after she went grocery shopping, then walked away from her beaten and bloodied body while she still was alive.
Hector Orozco Jr. was charged Wednesday with killing two people during a Valentine’s Day crime spree.
The unrelated murders, which happened within 10 hours of each other, involved a “slow, agonizing death” for the victims after being struck on the head and stabbed in the back, according to investigators.
Orozco, 42, is locked up on $3 million bail. It was increased from $500,000 after prosecutors added more charges with multiple victims.
Orozco pleaded innocent in Franklin County Superior Court to first-degree murder, second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and unlawful imprisonment, all felonies.
He also is charged with violating a no-contact order, third-degree driving with a suspended license, operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock and two counts of fourth-degree assault.
A trial date was set for April 23, though it likely will be moved back while attorneys Daniel Stovern and Peyman Younesi take time to investigate all of the allegations.
Prosecutor Shawn Sant told the Herald that it remains an active investigation, with police gathering more video surveillance from different locations in Pasco.
It is not yet known if Orozco knew the second victim, Bonnie D. Ross, said Sant.
Orozco was arrested before 2 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Rodeway Inn in Pasco for that morning’s slaying of Demetrius A. Graves.
Graves, 39, had been killed about 4 a.m. in the street near an alley between West Clark and Bonneville streets.
Shegow Gagow, 34, told police that he had tried to hit Orozco with a stick to stop him from stabbing Graves, but the attacker turned and charged at him.
Gagow was able to get away when Orozco stumbled and dropped the knife, he said.
The suspect was driving Ross’ Toyota Corolla when he arrived at the motel that afternoon before his arrest.
The following day, detectives went to Ross’ West Washington Street home to check if she had loaned her Toyota to someone. They knocked several times, but no one answered.
Ross, 82, was found dead in her home Friday evening after her son asked concerned neighbors to use a spare key and go inside.
Orozco had been out of jail for less than two days when he started attacking people, court documents said.
That recent arrest was for punching his girlfriend, Shun L. Fulton, on the back of the head, documents said.
Orozco was ordered to stay away from Fulton because of the domestic violence allegation, but he returned to living with her at the Rodeway Inn.
Police found Pasco Municipal Court paperwork with Orozco’s name at the scene near Graves’ body.
Gagow, who called police, said Graves had been shouting, “What did I do? What did I do?” as he was being stabbed, court documents said.
An autopsy determined Graves was struck several times on the face, and stabbed once in the upper back and twice near his sternum. The stab wounds punctured his lungs.
Ross, who lived alone, was found in a hallway next to her kitchen. Evidence shows she was attacked in her kitchen, and it appeared someone had rummaged through her purse, documents said.
Detectives located a to-do list for Feb. 14, written by Ross, that included buying groceries at Fiesta Foods. Grocery bags from the Pasco store had been found when searching the car after Orozco was arrested.
A neighbor told police that Ross was a “religious, peaceful, lovely lady who kept to herself” and never loaned her vehicle to anyone, court documents said.
Police believe Orozco may have attacked Ross after she got home from the store but before she could empty her car.
Ross tried to defend herself against Orozco and possibly grabbed the blade end of the knife, according to autopsy results.
She was beaten on her head, strangled and stabbed twice. Her injuries included a broken jaw, fractured ribs and a punctured lung from the knife, documents.
The charge for Ross’ premeditated murder includes the allegation that it was committed during a robbery or burglary.
