A man on the run since 2010 for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death in front of their child in Kingsbridge Heights was arrested in Las Vegas and has been arraigned and remanded in New York City this week.
Hector Ramirez, now 41, was apprehended last month by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, before being extradited and processed in the Bronx Thursday, a police spokesperson told the Bronx Times Friday. Ramirez was arrested for murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon in the 50th Precinct at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
According to the NYPD, on Aug. 29, 2010, police responded to a call of a woman stabbed inside 2709 Webb Ave. in the Bronx — listed as both the victim and suspect’s address — and found 28-year-old Elia Zamora with stab wounds to her chest. She was transported to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The spokesperson said the Bronx County Supreme Court put out a warrant for his arrest in 2017, and she did not know details about the investigation between 2011 and 2017. The Bronx Times has reached out to NYPD detectives for comment and did not receive an immediate response.
Ramirez was indicted by a grand jury in September 2017 and charged with murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
According to an archived 2010 web page on television show America’s Most Wanted (AMW) website, police were searching for Ramirez with possible locations in Mexico, where he is from, New York, where he moved to, and Salem, Oregon, where his sister lived at the time.
Zamora’s family had seen red flags in Ramirez’s behavior, like when he allegedly pulled out a knife in Zamora’s brother’s general store, according to AMW. So they were relieved when Zamora left Mexico with her 8-year-old son Jesus Orlando — who is also Ramirez’s son — to join Zamora’s mother Luz Mirabel Donge and niece Rachel Torres in the Bronx, according to AMW.
After his girlfriend and child relocated, Ramirez got a tattoo on his upper back that read “I Wish You Were Here, Orlando,” and a tattoo on his inner arm that said “Eli,” according to the website.
He allegedly joined them in the Bronx within months, where he worked at Dallas BBQ.
A woman who lived with Zamora allegedly testified that Jesus Orlando was trembling when she opened the bedroom door after hearing him trying to calm his father down, who was accusing Zamora of cheating, according to AMW. The woman allegedly told Ramirez to leave, and he agreed but said he needed to get dressed first.
When the roommate was in a different part of the apartment, she allegedly heard Zamora scream her name. According to AMW, she said Ramirez ran away while putting something in his pocket, and Zamora tried to wrap a towel around her bloody chest as her son screamed out “Mommy!”
Zamora allegedly said “I’ve been hurt,” while stumbling before collapsing on the floor, according to AMW. The son allegedly told police he saw his father punch his mother in the chest before running out.
According to a Jan. 12, 2011 Riverdale Press report, police were offering a $22,000 reward for Ramirez, an increase from $12,000. Lucas Miller, commanding officer of the 50th Precinct Detective Squad at the time, said AMW has a good record of helping police find suspects, according to the report.
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes.
