Roommate murder trial begins in December
A 24-year-old man faces trial for killing his neighbor days after leaving Fairfax County jail.
By Pedro Tanaka ·
Reston residents knew the name Marvin from the apartment complex where a fatal dispute unfolded in late 2025.
Marvin Fernando Morales Ortez, 24, is scheduled to stand trial on Dec. 7 for the second-degree murder of his roommate, Marvin Ernesto Morales, 40.
Ortez is also charged with using a firearm during a felony. The four-day jury trial will be held in Fairfax County Circuit Court before Judge Michael Devine.
The initial conflict began in early September. Ortez was arrested on Sept. 14 for malicious wounding and brandishing following an incident at their shared apartment in the 12000 block of Fan Shell Court.
Prosecutors dropped those earlier charges on Dec. 15. The office said the victim left the country and declined to cooperate with court proceedings.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought to detain Ortez after his release. Agency officials stated he was a native of El Salvador residing in the U.S. without legal status.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office policy limits cooperation with immigration officials unless a law or court order requires it. ICE did not obtain a judicial warrant that would have allowed the jail to hold Ortez past his scheduled release on Dec. 17.
On Dec. 18, a magistrate issued an emergency custody order for Ortez. Police attempted to locate him before the order expired eight hours later, but they did not find him in time.
Court documents do not specify if the custody order was related to the murder case. Police responded to the apartment at 11:40 a.m. that same day after a resident reported gunshots.
The resident told investigators they heard shots inside, followed by the sound of someone collecting shell casings. They saw a man they identified as Marvin leave the building.
Officers found Ortez in a wooded area less than two miles from the crime scene. A grand jury indicted him on the murder and firearm charges on Sept. 21.
Documents do not detail the motive for the shooting or the relationship between the two men beyond their status as roommates.
