You are reading

Briarwood Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter for Fatal Stabbing of Son-In-Law

Marco Ortiz pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2019 fatal stabbing of his son-in-law (NY Criminal Justice Services)

Feb. 22, 2022 By Allie Griffin

A Briarwood man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for fatally stabbing his son-in-law in January 2019.

Marco Ortiz, 48, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first-degree Tuesday morning as a Queens jury was in the process of deliberations.

“As jurors decided his fate, the defendant opted to plead guilty to manslaughter,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

Ortiz admitted that he stabbed his daughter’s husband Travis Ford, 31, to death in the Briarwood home they all shared at 8 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2019.

The stabbing took place while the defendant’s daughter was in the hospital—following the birth of the couple’s second child.

Ford’s two-year-old daughter was inside the Briarwood home at the time of the stabbing.

Ortiz and Ford were reportedly arguing, before Ortiz grew enraged and pulled out a knife. He slashed his son-in-law in the face and stabbed him once in the stomach, according to the trial testimony.

Ford was rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. He died in the same hospital where his wife was recovering from giving birth.

Travis Ford with his wife and their daughter (GoFundMe)

“A family dispute should never end in bloodshed, but in this instance, an argument between the two men escalated to violence and a tragic death,” Katz said in a statement.

Ortiz is scheduled to return to court on March 8 for his sentencing. Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, who oversaw the trial, plans to sentence Ortiz to 19 years in prison and five years post-release supervision, according to Katz.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Arsenal of ghost guns and thousands of rounds seized during Rockaway Park raid: DA

A Rockaway Park man was criminally charged with a slew of crimes after an arsenal of more than 30 firearms, including ghost guns and assault weapons, was uncovered along with thousands of rounds of ammunition and other weapons-related paraphernalia were seized during a raid at his home on Beach 117th Street on Wednesday.

Ryszard Materna, 51, was arraigned Thursday before Queens Criminal Court Judge Germaine Auguste on a 281-count complaint after a long-term investigation into his purchase of polymer-based firearm components that can easily be assembled into operable weapons, known as ghost guns.

Armed robber hits 7-Eleven stores in three Queens neighborhoods in just over an hour Wednesday morning: NYPD

Police from two Queens NYPD precincts are looking for an armed robber who targeted 7-Eleven stores in three different neighborhoods in just over an hour during the early morning of Wednesday, Apr. 17.

Police from the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park reported that the first heist went down just before 2:25 a.m. at the 7-Eleven located at 112-11 Liberty Ave. in South Richmond Hill. The perpetrator allegedly pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the 23-year-old man behind the counter, who complied, handing over $400 in cash from the register, police said.

Jamaica Estates man beaten, robbed by bat-wielding thugs near Cunningham Park: NYPD

A 22-year-old Jamaica Estates man was beaten and robbed in broad daylight three blocks west of Cunningham Park on Saturday, and police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows are looking for the suspects who attacked him with a baseball bat.

The incident occurred just after 7 p.m., as the victim was walking home in the vicinity of 189th Street and Aberdeen Avenue when he was set upon by the two assailants who struck him in the face and head with the baseball bat, police said. They forcibly removed his cell phone and fled in a black Pontiac Grand Am, heading northbound on 109th Street toward Union Turnpike.

Dozens of restaurant and small business owners urge Sen. Ramos to support the $8B Metropolitan Park proposal at Citi Field

Around fifty restaurant and small business owners from Corona, Jackson Heights, and East Elmhurst signed a letter asking state Senator Jessica Ramos to support the $8 billion Metropolitan Park proposal from New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International to build a casino and entertainment complex on the parking lot adjacent to Citi Field.

Jessica Rico, the owner of Mojitos Restaurant & Bar in Jackson Heights, hand-delivered the letter to a Ramos staffer while the Senator was in Albany on April 19.