APD arrests suspect for murder of ex-girlfriend

ALBUQUERQUE – APD detectives tracked down a man today who was charged with fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend in January at her Northeast Heights apartment. SWAT officers with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office took the suspect, Alexander Ortiz, into custody after a brief stand-off with police in Southeast Albuquerque.

Ortiz, 20, is accused of murdering Alianna Farfan on Jan. 11, 2024 at her apartment, located at 4047 Montgomery Blvd., N.E.

APD officers responded to the apartment that evening and located a female, later identified as Farfan, who had been shot in the bedroom. The offender reportedly ran out of the window of the apartment wearing a ski mask and a black hoodie. Officers arrived and determined Farfan was deceased.

Homicide detectives learned from friends and family that Farfan and Ortiz had an abusive relationship and Ortiz was upset with Farfan the day of the shooting. Farfan lived at the apartment and allowed several friends to stay there because she feared being alone, according to a relative.

On the night of the shooting, friends eventually told detectives that Farfan and Ortiz were in Farfan’s bedroom with the door closed. They heard a single gunshot. They kicked open the bedroom door and saw that Farfan had been shot in the face. They said Ortiz had already left through the window of the bedroom. The friends also told detectives that Ortiz always wore a black ski mask, and that was a “big thing” for him.

Detectives secured an arrest warrant for Ortiz, charging him with an open count of murder. He will booked into the Metro Detention Center.

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