Late in March 2018, gunshots rang out in a Michigan neighborhood of Grand Rapids, prompting police to quickly arrive. There they found Laurie Lundeberg dead on the street, starting an intensive search for her killer. Explore Discovery’s’The Murder Tapes: A Really Odd Situation’ tells how the authorities tracked down Vicente Rodriguez-Ortiz after another murder in the same area. So let’s find out more about what happened next, shall we?
How did Laurie Lundeberg die?
Laurie Kay Lundeberg had lived in her home in Grand Rapids for about twenty years. In addition to a roommate, the 50-year-old had a son and a daughter who lived with her. Laurie was described as a kind and helpful person who had an affinity for pets; she has raised many birds and animals all her life. At the time of the incident. Laurie worked as a cashier at a local pharmacy.
Sometime after 1 AM on March 18, 2017, people on Laurie’s street called authorities to report several shots. The officers rushed there to find Laurie in front of her house with blood on her. The 50-year-old had been shot three times: once in the face, chest and another through her armpit, severing her lungs. Police noted that all her belongings were still with her, which they considered a robbery as the motive.
Who Killed Laurie Lundeberg?
The case continued to be investigated without much luck until things changed in 2018. On January 23, authorities responded to another shooting in the same area that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Andre Hawkins. Police arrested Vicente Rodriguez-Ortiz, then a 22-year-old, about two days later. Once witness statements started coming in and Vicente was being questioned, it slowly became clear what was happening.
Earlier on January 23, Vicente’s 18-year-old girlfriend had broken up with him, causing him to fly off the handle. She later claimed that she had been outside her house with Andre and another friend when Vicente threatened to kill her with a gun. Then she and her friends got into a car in the driveway, and Andre was shot three times when he tried to start the vehicle. Vicente ran away, but was arrested a few days later. According to the show, he admitted to being angry and jealous of seeing his ex-girlfriend with someone else. Vicente later confessed to pointing the gun at her and then shooting Andre.
The authorities then learned that the weapon used in Andre’s murder was the same as the one used to kill Laurie. Additionally, Vicente was found guilty of assaulting Laurie after an incident in September 2016. According to the show, a friend of Vicente’s was a tenant at Laurie’s house, and at one point confronted the two about the drug activity in her basement. The attack happened immediately afterwards. Vicente claimed she yelled at him in the street the night of Laurie’s murder, so he snapped and shot her.
Where is Vicente Rodriguez Ortiz now?
In March 2019, in Laurie’s case, Vicente pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and felony use of a firearm. For the murder of Andre, a jury found him guilty of first degree murder in February 2019. In April of the same year, Vicente was sentenced to 35-75 years for murdering Laurie and life without parole for murdering Andre. Records show that Vicente is still incarcerated at the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Freeland, Michigan.
Read more: How did Kim Wall die?
