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Who Were Itzcoatl Ocampo’s Victims? How Did He Die?

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Itzcoatl-Ocampo

The documentary ‘Murder by Numbers: Friend of the Devil’ on Investigation Discovery tells the story of a Mexican-American man named Itzcoatl Ocampo who is suspected of being a serial killer and who targeted helpless homeless men as his victims. The veteran of the United States Marine Corps is believed to be responsible for at least six deaths, all of which led to his conviction. These killings took place in California during the years 2011 and 2012. Do you have an interest in learning more about the victims in addition to what transpired with Itzcoatl?

Who Were Itzcoatl Ocampo’s Victims?
James McGillivray was 53 years old and had unkempt hair that was fading out. He had a wrinkled face that was covered in a scraggly beard that was turning gray. Along the banks of the Santa Ana River in south Los Angeles, where a population of homeless people lives, he was a well-known figure. On December 20, 2011, witnesses in Placentia, California, saw James hanging around in front of a liquor store before going outside to spend the night on the sidewalk in front of a strip mall in the area. Later, the authorities would view one of the surveillance videos from the shopping center and observe how James was brutally murdered by being stabbed in the head and upper torso with a heavy-gauge Ka-Bar knife approximately 52 times.

Lloyd Middaugh, who was 42 years old at the time, was a registered sexual offender. On December 27, 2011, he was found sleeping underneath the 91 highway in Anaheim, California. He had a history of residing in local shelters, but he was unable to locate one on that particular night. Later, it was discovered that he had received sixty stab wounds, that his head and neck had been smashed, and that he had multiple fractured ribs. After doing an autopsy, the medical examiner for the Anaheim police department discovered that Lloyd had suffered a deep laceration across his thyroid gland, a fractured temporal bone, and a deep penetrating lesion to his brain. These injuries ultimately led to his death.

Paulus Cornelius Smit, age 57, had struggled for a long time with a terrible addiction to drugs. After the authorities red-tagged a run-down property he lived in as inhabitable because of its condition, Smit found himself without a home. His beloved bicycle and visits to the Yorba Linda Public Library were two of his favorite ways to pass the time in the past. On December 30, 2011, he discovered that his bicycle had been stolen, and he had been waiting for his daughter to pick him up while he was harmed under the stairway of the library. He had 56 stab wounds on his head, back, and neck, and the knife had also severed his jugular vein and lacerated his heart. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

John Berry served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and later became an avid amateur ornithologist. An officer of the Anaheim police department approached him to discuss the threat that was posed by an unidentified individual who was suspected of being a serial killer and had been preying on the homeless community. A photographer for the Los Angeles Times captured the interaction between the two guys in a photograph, and John’s picture was published in an article during the first week of January in 2012. After the story was published, John made multiple calls to the police to report that he was being followed and he claimed that it was because of the article.

When he was attacked on January 13, 2012, about 8:45 p.m., behind a fast food restaurant that was situated in the midst of a parking lot in Anaheim, he realized that his suspicions were correct. The assailant in the hooded sweatshirt punched him in the head, then continued to stab him until he was dead. On the other hand, there were numerous witnesses in the area this time, and they were able to give chase to the murderer while simultaneously contacting the authorities.

Later on, the authorities investigated the blood that was found on the killer’s shoes to prove that he was responsible for the murder of Raquel Estrada, who was 53 years old, and Juan Estrada, who was 34 years old. On October 25, 2011, both of them were stabbed to death, with Raquel receiving approximately 30 stab wounds and Juan receiving approximately 60.

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How Did Itzcoatl Ocampo Die?
Itzcoatl Ocampo was apprehended within a few hundred meters of the location of the crime as he attempted to flee the parking area that had been ringed by Anaheim police officers. He surrendered himself to the policemen without causing any trouble, and the murder weapon, a bloodied Ka-Bar knife with a 7-inch long blade, was discovered on him by the authorities. Itzcoatl Misael Ocampo, a native of Mexico who had moved to Yorba Linda, California, with his family, was identified as the murderer. Ocampo had moved to California with his family. He had completed four years of service in the Marine Corps and had even spent some time in Iraq in 2008 as part of his obligation.

Itzcoatl was arrested for the murder of John, but he was also charged with the murders of James, Lloyd, and Paulus when an analysis of the knife determined that it was the same weapon used to carry out those homicides as well. John was the first victim to be killed, but Itzcoatl was ultimately held accountable for all four killings. On January 17, 2012, he was charged with all 4 counts of murder, and it is possible that he will be sentenced to death if convicted of all charges. After forensic evidence tied him to the double homicide case, he was additionally charged with the murder of Raquel and Juan in February of 2012. The charges against him were brought about as a result of the case.

The perpetrator’s family had claimed that the killer was mentally unstable, suffering from alcohol abuse, and exhibiting signs of clinical delirium. They stated that Itzcoatl’s PTSD from his tour in Iraq, the problems he was having with his family, and the death of a close friend of his in Afghanistan were all contributing factors. The prosecution did not think this to be the case and instead focused on his reputation as a brutal serial killer. On January 17, 2014, he was supposed to stand trial for the offense.

When staff at the Orange County Central Men’s Jail saw that Itzcoatl was trembling and throwing up on November 27, 2013, around 6:35 pm, they discovered him in the cell he was occupying at the jail. He was jailed there. It was determined at the WMC hospital in Santa Ana, where he was taken when he was brought there, that he had consumed a deadly dosage of Ajax cleaning detergent that he had been stockpiling for weeks. He had been a patient there for some time. On November 28, 2013, he was officially proclaimed dead.