ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal court jury has awarded $4 million to the family of Alex Bello-Ortiz, an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University student and Air Force cadet, in a verdict that contradicted initial findings by local police that his 2020 death was a suicide. The family’s assertion, supported by evidence, suggested that Bello-Ortiz was fatally shot by his roommate following an altercation.
Maria Lourdes Ortiz, Alex’s mother, expressed relief following the civil court’s decision. “I know the police department is supposed to do their job, but they did not do justice for my son. Thank God for the justice in the civil court,” she stated.
The controversy began when Daytona Beach police initially closed the case as a suicide in 2020, and again in May 2023, after briefly reopening it when Ortiz’s family presented new evidence. The family alleged that after shooting Bello-Ortiz, the roommate contacted his father, a retired Air Force captain, for advice on how to arrange the scene to suggest a suicide, all of which was allegedly captured on Ring camera audio.
During the weeklong trial, the family’s attorney, Elizabeth Brennan, remarked on the clarity of the situation involving only two individuals in the home, “one ends up dead, there’s only one shot, and there’s only one shooter.”
Despite the lawsuit naming John Burelin as the roommate involved, Burelin had not faced criminal charges after two investigations by the Daytona Beach Police Department.
Following the verdict, Ortiz’s family and their legal team called for a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the handling of the case by the Daytona Beach Police, criticizing the initial investigations for hastiness and lack of thoroughness. “Not a third investigation, a first true investigation into the case,” Maria Ortiz emphasized at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Orlando.
It was revealed during the trial that Daytona Beach police did not perform essential investigative procedures such as preserving the crime scene, interviewing the roommates immediately, or testing their hands for gunshot residue and the weapon for DNA. This mishandling was acknowledged somewhat by the department which expressed regret over the preservation of the scene but noted that it did not affect the determination by the Volusia County medical examiner.
Nevertheless, the Daytona Beach Police Department maintains that there are no plans to reopen the case but stated they are open to cooperation with any state or federal agency willing to review the matter.
While the judicial outcomes provide a degree of closure to the Bello-Ortiz family, they continue to push for broader reviews of police conduct, underscoring a persistent struggle for justice in a case that has deeply affected the community and sparked wider discussions on investigative procedures and accountability.
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