Suspect in slaying of Oviedo mom silent during court appearance

An Oviedo man accused of killing his mother before fleeing to Maryland on Thursday briefly appeared in court in that state as authorities moved forward with plans to return him to Florida.

Joshua Galin Ortiz, 20, is accused of second-degree homicide in connection with Jacqueline Ortiz’s death on Sunday, Seminole County Sheriff ’s Office announced late Wednesday night.

Authorities took Ortiz into custody in Howard County, Md., on Tuesday after Maryland State Police stopped him in his mother’s stolen 2005 Ford Mustang convertible.

He was driving north on Interstate 95, near Baltimore, when a computerized license plate reader spotted his tag and relayed word to a state trooper who then pulled him over.

Ortiz appeared in Howard County District Court on Thursday via a live video feed, and Assistant State Attorney James Brewer said the defendant would be extradited to Florida “very soon.” Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Ortiz sat silently during the bail-review hearing that lasted less than one minute.

His attorney, Public Defender Carol Hanson, was not available for comment.

Investigators with the Seminole County Sheriff ’s Office traveled to Maryland and interviewed Joshua Ortiz Wednesday about his mother’s death. They have not disclosed what he said. Authorities had searched for Ortiz and the car since her body was found inside their home Sunday afternoon.

Jack Kavanaugh, director of the Howard County Jail, would not say whether Ortiz was on suicide watch, but a booking photo shows him wearing a padded garment rather than the jumpsuit that inmates in that facility normally wear. They have described Joshua Ortiz as someone who had threatened suicide before and might be a danger to himself.

The Seminole County Sheriff ’s Office investigators have not described Jacqueline Ortiz’s injuries.