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Ex-boyfriend arrested in death of Deltona woman reported missing in 2016

Orlando Cruz Romero and Maria Marquez-Rivera: Detectives arrested a man accused of killing a Deltona woman who disappeared in 2016, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office officials said Thursday.

Detectives arrested a man accused of killing a Deltona woman who disappeared in 2016, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office officials said Thursday.
The remains of 40-year-old Maria Marquez-Rivera were found buried in a shallow grave near Ormond Beach in November 2016, seven weeks after her disappearance in October of that year, detectives said.
Marquez-Rivera’s ex-boyfriend, Orlando Cruz-Romero, 49, of Puerto Rico, is facing a charge of second-degree murder, officials said. He remains in federal custody in Bayamon, where he was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison on identity theft charges filed during the initial homicide investigation, detectives said.

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A news release said the investigation started as a missing person case on Oct. 4, 2016, when Marquez-Rivera’s daughter reported her disappearance. Marquez-Rivera was believed to be in the company of Cruz-Romero.
Detectives learned Cruz-Romero had a history of violence toward the victim, had previously served time in Puerto Rico on homicide charges, and was wanted in Puerto Rico for violating his probation by leaving the island.
Detectives who searched Marquez-Rivera’s residence on Daroca Drive said they found small amounts of blood inside and outside and evidence of a clean-up.
Timeline:
Oct. 10 - Marquez-Rivera’s Chevrolet Impala was found in a parking lot in the northeastern United States, where Volusia County detectives processed it and found her DNA in the trunk, officials said.
Oct. 21 - Cruz-Romero was found in a hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Volusia County detectives traveled to Detroit to interview him. While he denied involvement in Marquez-Rivera’s disappearance, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Cruz-Romero on charges of violating his probation and on charges of stealing the Impala. Detectives said they also obtained evidence of identity theft that would eventually lead to his conviction in Puerto Rico.
Nov. 25, 2016 - A hunter discovered the victim’s skeletal remains in a wooded area near Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 in the Ormond Beach area. An autopsy by the medical examiner determined Marquez-Rivera’s manner of death was homicide, caused by homicidal violence, detectives said.
Detectives said they believe Cruz-Romero killed Marquez-Rivera during an altercation at her home, sometime after 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 3, and then cleaned up the scene and drove to the wooded area, where he buried her.
Marquez-Rivera and Cruz-Romero had a 3-year-old son who was present at the home the night of the killing, detectives said.
Cruz-Romero dropped the child off at a relative’s house sometime before taking Marquez-Rivera’s body to the woods.