Ruby Garcia

Case background and investigation

Ruby Garcia, 25, was killed on March 22, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her body was found beside southbound US-131 near Leonard Street NW, according to WWMT. The station reported that she had been shot four times, twice in the head, once in the hand and once in the upper arm.

The man responsible was her boyfriend, Brandon Ortiz-Vite, also 25. According to WWMT's account of the court record, the shooting happened in Garcia's car after the two had been talking about their relationship. He pulled her from the vehicle, shot her again and drove away, later leaving the car in South Haven. On March 24 he called Allegan County Central Dispatch and confessed, and he was arrested. NewsNation reported that he initially faced five charges, including felony murder and carjacking.

Ortiz-Vite was a Mexican national who was in the United States without legal status. ABC News reported that, according to immigration authorities, he had been brought into the country as a child, had previously been deported and had re-entered at an unknown date and place. WWMT reported that he told investigators he was afraid of police involvement because of his immigration status.

The case drew national political attention. At a campaign event in Grand Rapids on April 2, 2024, former President Donald Trump spoke about Garcia's death in remarks on immigration and said he had spoken with some of her family. Her sister, Mavi Garcia, who acted as the family's spokesperson, told reporters that he had not spoken with her or her immediate family. According to NewsNation, she said the family was upset that the death was being treated as a political matter and that attention should be on her sister.

On September 23, 2024, Ortiz-Vite pleaded guilty in Kent County Circuit Court to second-degree murder, felony firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and carjacking, WWMT reported. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge, which would have carried life in prison without parole.

Judge Mark A. Trusock sentenced him on November 7, 2024, to 37 to 100 years for the murder and two years for the firearm offense, which means he must serve at least 39 years. The judge told him the killing was intentional and called him a danger to society. Ortiz-Vite addressed the Garcia family in court and acknowledged that his words would mean little to them. Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker said Ortiz-Vite would face deportation to Mexico after serving his sentence, WWMT reported.