A Briarwood man admitted he stabbed his son-in-law to death during a 2019 argument, while his daughter was in the hospital giving birth to the couple’s second child, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Marco Ortiz, 48, of 139th Street in Briarwood, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Tuesday morning before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder as his jury was in the first day of deliberations following a two-week-long trial.
According to trial testimony, during the evening of Jan. 24, Ortiz and his daughter’s husband Travis Ford got into a verbal altercation over his drinking habits inside the home they all shared in Briarwood. The argument escalated and grew physically violent when Ortiz drew a knife and slashed the 31-year-old victim in the face and then stabbed Ford once in the stomach.
EMS responded to the crime scene and Ford was transported to Jamaica Hospital, where he later succumbed to his abdominal wound.
“As jurors decided his fate, the defendant opted to plead guilty to manslaughter in the killing of his daughter’s husband in 2019,” Katz said. “A family dispute should never end in bloodshed, but in this instance, an argument between the two men escalated to violence and a tragic death. The defendant has admitted his guilt now and will be sentenced by the court for his criminal actions.”
Justice Holder set sentencing for March 8, at which time he indicated he will sentence Ortiz to 19 years in prison to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
