Francesca Ortiz case: Family of woman killed in South Austin speak out, want answers
Family of Francesca Ortiz is still looking for answers
A family is hoping a new billboard along I-35 will help bring them answers in a South Austin murder.
AUSTIN, Texas - A family is hoping a new billboard along I-35 will help bring them answers in a South Austin murder.
Woman killed at South Austin apartment complex: APD
A woman is dead after an incident at a South Austin apartment complex Wednesday afternoon.
Daughter of Francesca Ortiz speaks out
Local perspective:
Francesca Ortiz is gone, but her daughter said, somehow, her mother still knows how to dry her tears.
"Anytime I cry, something around me will happen that's funny, and it always distracts me or when I'm having a hard day, I kind of feel like she's here and just in my ear telling me you're okay, I'm okay, you're OK, and that gives me peace," Ortiz’s daughter, Cenica Machuca said.
Machuca said her mother was someone who brought light with her everywhere she went.
"We called her Frenchie," Machuca said.
Woman found dead at South Austin complex may have been trying to meet someone: APD
The Austin Police Department is seeking the public's help in solving the murder of a woman at a South Austin apartment complex.
Machuca said Ortiz, from Austin, knew everyone.
"She was a person that you couldn't go anywhere without someone noticing her or her saying, Hey. She was always stopping to talk to somebody, and we're like, who's that? She's like, Oh, that's my friend. Yeah, she was very popular, I would say," Machuca said.
Machuca said that is why she struggles to understand how someone could want to hurt her.
What happened to Francesca Ortiz?
Francesca Ortiz (Austin Police Department)
The backstory:
Austin police found Ortiz dead on June 17 outside an apartment building at the Waters at Bluff Springs in South Austin.
"The manner in which the victim was located and the injuries that she received were devastating and kind of shocking to the conscience. It shocked the public's conscience," Austin Police Homicide Detective Israel Pina said.
Ortiz had been brutally beaten.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Woman killed at South Austin apartment complex
A woman is dead after an incident at a South Austin apartment complex Wednesday afternoon.
"I say it was overkill. It was so bad to the point where we had no open casket," Machuca said.
Now, detectives are trying to figure out what happened to Ortiz in the hours before she died. They said she was at the apartment complex the night before. Video shows her walking around Building 2 at around 11:45 p.m., knocking on doors.
"It looks like she's either looking for someone or supposed to meet someone. The problem is we just don't know," Detective Pina said.
Dig deeper:
The family said they have questions, too.
"I have no idea why, and that's what drives me insane. What could she have possibly done, or how desperate could you possibly have been to do that to a woman? That's very cruel. You're a monster," Machuca said.
Machuca knows there may be someone out there who has the piece of information her family needs. She is hoping a billboard along I-35 reaches them.
"If it was your family, you would want someone to come forward, even if you had just seen anybody with her the day prior or a couple of hours prior, anything helps," Machuca said.
The family is offering a $5,000 reward for information that helps.
What you can do:
Anyone with photos, videos, or other potential evidence is requested to share them with APD. You may submit materials by clicking here.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Austin Police at 512-974-TIPS. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.
The Source: Information from the Austin Police Department and from an interview conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis