ZACHARY, LA. (THECOUNT) — Whitney Durant, of Alexandria, Louisiana, has been identified as the victim found dead in a Baton Rouge home on Friday morning, according to reports.
Durant, 33, was found shot dead inside a home in the 15200 block of Pride-Port Hudson Road, near Pride on Friday, according to EBRSO officials.
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Investigators later concluded the victim was fatally shot with a .40 caliber weapon.
27-year-old Steven Francisco Ortiz-Morales, of Pineville, was taken into custody by the Zachary Police Department in connection to Durant’s death.
He was later charged Friday afternoon with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
EBRSO says when detectives arrived at the house, a strong bleach smell was coming from the room when the woman’s body was found, reports WAFB.
The woman was shot with a .40 caliber weapon, EBRSO says. Crime scene investigators found bottles of bleach near the woman’s body, along with a mop bucket, wipe marks, and blood, officials say, reports WABF.
Ortiz-Morales was apprehended after the Zachary Police Department got a report about a suspicious person. He was issued a summon for unrelated charges and released in EBRSO custody for questioning.
Officials say he was found to be in possession of a .40 caliber handgun and was wearing body armor. EBRSO officials say while being questioned, Ortiz-Morales admitted to murdering the woman.
He was also seen on surveillance video from a home nearby at the time the victim was home, officials report.
Ortiz-Morales will be booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
His last known address is 107 Beacon Hl, in Pineville, LA.
Unconfirmed internet reports listed the decedent as Whitney Lane Martinez-Durant, while local news reports named Whitney Durant as the victim. We found a “Whitney Lane Martinez-Durant” on Facebook. We do not know if the woman depicted on the facebook page is the victim in this case.
The investigation is ongoing.
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Geo quick facts: Zachary is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies 16 miles north of the city of Baton Rouge, and had a population of 14,960 at the 2010 census, up from 11,275 in 2000 – Wikipedia.