Missing teen found dead after he’s lured, fatally beaten near church, TX cops say
A missing 16-year-old boy was found dead on a riverbank in East Texas, and now four people have been arrested in his violent death, officials say.
Michael Ortiz vanished the night of April 30 in the town of Crockett, and two days later, on May 2, his body was found, the police department said. Officials initially shared little about what they discovered, but a murder investigation was launched and headed by the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, with help from Crockett police and the Texas Rangers.
Ortiz’s body was covered in bruises and cuts, signs of the severe beating he suffered, deputies later revealed, KYTX reported. His left hand was also missing, deputies said.
Investigators found a metal pipe and blood close to a storage building at a Baptist church, the outlet reported . This is where Ortiz was lured and fatally attacked, the station said.
On May 6, deputies arrested four people, including two adults and two juveniles, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office said in a May 12 news release. Leading up to the arrests, investigators spent days gathering evidence, speaking to witnesses and impounding several vehicles connected to the case.
Edgar Hernandez, 18, and Emmanuel Mata, 20, are accused of killing Ortiz, KTRE reported. It’s unclear what charges the two juveniles are facing.
On the night of the killing, investigators say Hernandez texted Ortiz, asked him if he wanted to smoke, and Ortiz said yes, media outlets reported.
Ortiz started the night at Hernandez’s home before getting into a car with Hernandez and two other juveniles, deputies said, according to KTRE. Hernandez drove around Crockett for a little while so Ortiz would be relaxed, then headed for the trap — the church where Mata and others were waiting, deputies said.
Hernandez texted the others after arriving with Ortiz and entering the storage building, deputies told KYTX. The attackers emerged from hiding in nearby woods, surrounded Ortiz and brutally beat him with fists, a pipe and a gun, stopping only after he was no longer moving, according to deputies.
The ambush may have been revenge, according to court documents, KYTX reported. As Ortiz begged his attackers to stop, he repeatedly said he wouldn’t rob them anymore, KTRE said.
When the beating ended, the group loaded Ortiz into the bed of a pickup truck and dumped him in a ditch, the station reported.
The investigation is ongoing and deputies say there may be more arrests.
“We have others whom we believe are involved and are actively searching for them at this time,” the sheriff’s office said.
Crockett is a roughly 120-mile drive north from Houston.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Missing teen found dead after he’s lured, fatally beaten near church, TX cops say."