2 brothers accused in SLO County homicide allegedly forged green cards
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- Brothers charged with murder, arson, insurance fraud and greencard forgery
- Phone records, surveillance footage and witness statements link them to disappearance
- ICE detainers issued; prosecutors seek no bail citing flight risk and evidence
New court documents claim the men accused in the murder of a Coalinga woman and torching her car talked about fleeing the country after one allegedly “beat the living daylight” out of her.
Alejandro Soriano Ortiz, 45 of Coalinga, and Celestino Soriano Ortiz, 40 of Santa Maria, were both arrested Saturday in connection to the killing of 50-year-old Isabel Lucas Velasco, who had been missing since she disappeared from an Arroyo Grande jobsite about a month ago. Alejandro Soriano Ortiz was believed to be Velasco’s boyfriend, a court document said.
The brothers made their first court appearance Wednesday.
According to the complaint, filed by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, Alejandro allegedly filed a fraudulent insurance claim after he allegedly murdered Lucas Velasco and set fire to her car. He was charged with murder, arson with the intent to defraud and insurance fraud.
His brother, Celestino, was also charged with arson with the intent to defraud and accessory after the fact, meaning he is alleged to have helped his brother hide his crimes the complaint said.
Both brothers were also charged with forging a United States Permanent Resident Card, also known as a green card, which included a counterfeit government seal, the complaint said.
As the two brothers entered the courtroom Wednesday, they nodded toward one another and were seated at opposite ends of the jury box.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued detainers for both men to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. Murder and arson are exceptions to the state law that prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE detainers.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told The Tribune the agency will cooperate with ICE upon request only if the men are convicted.
Both men will remain in prison without bail, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Rita Federman ruled Wednesday.
Suspect allegedly said he ‘beat the living daylight’ out of girlfriend
A document asking for the brothers to be held in jail custody without bail at the time of their arrest gave new details about the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Lucas Velasco.
According to the filing, which included a declaration from San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office Det. Luke Weimer, several coworkers reported they saw Lucas Velasco for the last time at a jobsite in Arroyo Grande between 3 and 4 p.m. on Sept. 12.
Lucas Velasco’s final cell phone “message activity” appeared “very unusual” to her family because she was known to return calls promptly, the document said.
Phone records show Lucas Velasco and Alejandro leaving the jobsite together and traveling to Paso Robles around 5 p.m., with Alejandro making the first call to Celestino at 5:05 p.m., the document said.
Alejandro then called his friend in Paso Robles and allegedly asked for a shovel to help bury a cell phone, made comments about Lucas Velasco cheating on him and stated that “she will not laugh at him” and said he “had beat the living daylight out of her,” the document said.
Based on Alejandro’s demeanor, the document said, the friend believed that he had killed Lucas Velasco.
The friend did not see Lucas Velasco in Alejandro’s vehicle, a red Toyota Tacoma, and was “feeling uncomfortable with the situation and was scared for his own safety, so he left after telling Alejandro this was his problem,” the document said.
Records from Lucas Velasco’s Snapchat showed a man had sent her a message in Spanish that translated to, “What’s going on my love” around 4 p.m. on Sept. 12, the document said.
Detectives believe Alejandro saw the message on her phone and killed her around that time.
Around 7 p.m., the document said, phone records from Lucas Velasco and both brothers show the three all traveling together along the same route from San Luis Obispo County to an area of Highway 198.
Surveillance footage and cell phone records show Alejandro’s vehicle followed by a white Nissan pickup truck, believed to be driven by Celestino, heading west on Highway 198 out of Coalinga around 9 p.m.
The men’s vehicles were seen again on surveillance footage traveling east on Highway 198 back into Coalinga, but Lucas Velasco’s cell phone activity was no longer active, the document said.
Surveillance footage and cell phone records shows the two brothers going to Lucas Velasco’s vehicle in Avenal, and Alejandro left his Tacoma at this location, the document said. Lucas Velasco’s black Camaro and the Nissan truck were seen leaving the area, and the Camaro was taken into an orchard in rural Fresno County, the document said.
Cell phone records show both men’s devices at the exact location of the fire for approximately 10 minutes on Sept. 12, the document said.
Law enforcement found the Camaro burned in an “apparent arson fire” two days later on Sept. 14, the document said.
Crime scene investigation found accelerant was used to ignite the fire and there were tire track impressions consistent with the Nissan truck near the site of the burned vehicle, the document said.
On Sept. 13, the document said, phone records show the brothers returning to Avenal in order to retrieve Alejandro’s truck. The two men then went to their Coalinga and Santa Maria homes, the document said.
Detectives found human remains in a clandestine grave along Highway 198 west of Coalinga on Saturday.
The remains were wrapped in black plastic consistent with a contractor trash bag, the document said, and a purse with Lucas Velasco’s identification was found with the remains.
Alejandro’s truck, which had been seized by detectives, had large black heavy-duty trash bags inside the cab, the document said.
Detectives believe Alejandro killed Lucas Velasco at the Arroyo Grande jobsite, concealed her body in plastic and placed her in the back cab area of his truck. They also believe Alejandro contacted Celestino to help bury Lucas Velasco’s body, burn her car and conspire to conceal the crime from law enforcement.
The two men have ties to Mexico and had spoken about fleeing to the country on phone calls intercepted by the Sheriff’s Office, the document said, adding that they believe if the men are granted bail that they will flee the country.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Criag van Rooyen signed the order approving no bail for the men on Saturday, and Federman ordered the men to continue to be held without bail during Wednesday’s court hearing.
The brothers did not enter a plea to the crimes and their next court date was scheduled for Oct. 30.
This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 1:20 PM.
