The “system” didn’t just fail Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez; it practically handed his killer the keys to the city. While a legal immigrant from Ecuador worked 12-hour shifts to support his four children, a man who should have been deported nine years ago was busy building a rap sheet and plotting a cold-blooded execution over a $40 cab fare.
On December 1, 2025, the streets of Putnam County became the final stage for a tragedy that was entirely preventable. Santos Paulino Vasquez-Ramirez, a 27-year-old illegal migrant from Guatemala, allegedly strangled the 65-year-old taxi driver to death in a “brutal and senseless” act of violence. But the real crime started in 2013, and the villains aren’t just in the backseat—they’re in the government offices that let this ticking time bomb stay on the streets.
The “Fare Dispute” That Ended in a Reservoir
The facts are stomach-turning. Zhunio-Orbez, a devoted missionary leader and a pillar of the Danbury Mormon church, picked up Vasquez-Ramirez at the Brewster MetroNorth station. They weren’t strangers; Vasquez-Ramirez was a “regular” who had used the service before. But this time, a beef over a previous fare turned into a death struggle.
Inside the victim’s black Toyota Sienna, Vasquez-Ramirez allegedly locked the elderly driver in a barbaric chokehold, squeezing the life out of him. He didn’t just stop there. He allegedly dragged the body into the woods near the Croton Falls Reservoir—a critical part of New York City’s water system—and dumped the father of four like trash. He then stole the man’s van and went about his day, leaving a fisherman to find the bloated remains a week later on December 7.
The Controversy Everyone is Ignoring: The 2016 “Ghost” Removal Order
Here is the part the open-border activists want you to ignore: Santos Paulino Vasquez-Ramirez was ordered to leave this country nearly a decade ago. He crossed the border illegally in 2013 at Hidalgo, Texas. In 2016, under the first Trump administration, he was issued a final removal order. He didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed in New York, racking up a “rap sheet” that includes two DWIs and criminal mischief.
Why was he still here? Why was a man with a final deportation order and multiple arrests allowed to walk free in Putnam County? The “Sanctuary” mindset has turned our neighborhoods into a playground for the “worst of the worst,” and Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez paid the ultimate price for that negligence.
The Cold Hard Truth from the Insiders
Behind closed doors, law enforcement sources are fuming. While the public sees a “confession,” the guys on the ground see a failure of federal and local coordination that left a “smiling killer” on the loose.
“He was a ticking time bomb,” one insider told us. “You have a guy who ignores a federal judge, drives drunk twice, breaks windows, and we’re supposed to act surprised when he escalates to murder? The handcuffs should have been on him for a one-way flight to Guatemala years ago.”
Instead of a flight home, Vasquez-Ramirez was photographed grinning in the back of a patrol car after his arrest. He’s smiling because he knows the system has been on his side since 2013.
Deep Background: A Tale of Two Immigrants
This is a story of a “Hero” and a “Villain” defined by their respect for the law.
- The Hero: Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez. A legal immigrant. A father. A man who loved Western films, his dog Pecas, and his church. He followed the rules, did the paperwork, and served his community.
- The Villain: Santos Paulino Vasquez-Ramirez. An illegal trespasser. A man who ignored the courts, ignored the law, and allegedly took a life over the price of a steak dinner.
The victim’s cousin and boss, Homero Orbe, is left to pick up the pieces. “It hurts my soul,” he said. The community is now forced to mourn a man who was the “true example of faith and service” while his killer sits in the Putnam County Jail on murder and robbery charges.
