Trial dates set in 2 Anderson murder cases

Mar. 6—ANDERSON — Trial dates have been set in Madison Circuit Court Division 6 for two men with murder charges.

Judge Mark Dudley set a trial date of April 3 for Alexander Ortiz.

Andrea Aguirre's husband found her dead Dec. 20, 2021, inside her residence in the 800 block of West Third Street.

The probable cause affidavit states Aguirre's brother Diego Aguirre named his sister's boyfriend as Ortiz, 36, 2900 block of East Fifth Street.

Anderson police investigators learned there was an active video camera pointed toward the back door and driveway of Aguirre's residence.

The video showed Ortiz backing into the driveway at 4:04 p.m. Dec. 20, 2021, and using a key to enter the house, according to the court document.

Aguirre arrived home at 6:18 p.m. and, along with Oritz, left the residence. At 6:40 p.m. they returned, unloaded groceries, and Aguirre is seen carrying a small child.

Ortiz is observed 10 minutes later setting out trash cans along the street. He is later observed leaving the residence at 1:04 a.m. Dec. 21.

Ortiz was arrested in Massachusetts, sleeping in Aguirre's car, and was returned to Madison County.

A trial date of Sept. 18 was set by Judge Dudley for Curtis Williams Sr., charged with the murder of his wife in December.

Williams, 61, 2900 block of West 11th Street, was charged after he told investigators she was cheating on hm.

He allegedly stabbed his wife, Claudette, 51, in the neck with a pocket knife Dec. 6, 2022..

"I lost my head, man," he told investigators. "I have destroyed my life."

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Anderson Police Department detective Travis Thompson, Williams called dispatch at 10:04 a.m. and said he killed his wife.

He was interviewed by investigators at Ascension St. Vincent Anderson Hospital while being treated for a cut on his left arm.

Williams told investigators he didn't return home Monday night and when he returned Tuesday morning, found his wife with another man in the bedroom and alleged Claudette was cheating on him.

Williams said he chased the man from his house and claimed had Claudette stabbed him with a kitchen knife.

"She tried to stop me from getting him, and cut me, and I cut her back," Williams said. "I killed her, it was unacceptable. I accepted nothing less than death."

Williams told Thompson he didn't know how many times he stabbed his wife.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found Claudette holding a kitchen knife in her right hand, but according to the report, blood droplets on the knife were not consistent with being used to cut someone.

"It appears the blue handled kitchen knife was placed in Claudette's hand after her death in order to stage the scene," Thompson wrote in the court document.

"I believe that the injury to Curtis Williams Sr. was a self-inflicted wound in order to establish a self-defense claim or to commit suicide."

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.