A 28-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 26, to 21 years to life in state prison for the murder of a cab driver whose body was found in the Croton Falls Reservoir last December.
Santos Vasquez Ramirez was sentenced Aug. 26 by Putnam County Court Justice Anthony Mole for the murder of Aurelio Orbez of Danbury, Conn., according to Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy. Vasquez Ramirez admitted to the killing in court on June 17.
Orbez was reported missing by his family Dec. 1, 2025, after he failed to return home from work the previous night. Six days later, his body was recovered from the Croton Falls Reservoir in Southeast. An autopsy determined that Orbez died by strangulation.
According to prosecutors, Vasquez Ramirez entered Orbez’s taxi near the Brewster Metro-North station on the morning of Dec. 1. Surveillance video later showed the cab traveling along Railroad Avenue in Brewster and, about 30 minutes later, south on Stoneleigh Avenue toward Route 22 and North Salem.
Investigators said Vasquez Ramirez was subsequently captured on surveillance video boarding a Metro-North train at the Purdy’s station. Orbez’s taxi was recovered there four days later.
Prosecutors said Vasquez Ramirez traveled by train to Bedford Hills, where records showed he attempted to use Orbez’s Chase credit card at the post office. After the transaction was declined, he took a cab to Target in Mount Kisco, where surveillance video showed him purchasing men’s clothing. He entered the bathroom and emerged several minutes later wearing the newly purchased clothes.
Vasquez Ramirez then went to the Mount Kisco Metro-North station and boarded a northbound train to Southeast before taking another train to Pawling, arriving there at about 6:19 p.m., prosecutors said. Bank records also showed that the following day he unsuccessfully attempted to link Orbez’s credit card to an Android device.
Vasquez Ramirez became a person of interest during a multi-agency homicide investigation and was arrested Dec. 12, 2025. The investigation involved the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Westchester County Police, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Tendy praised the agencies involved for identifying and arresting Vasquez Ramirez less than two weeks after Orbez disappeared.
“The way this case came together and how Vasquez Ramirez was swiftly brought to justice is truly remarkable,” Tendy said. “It was great police work.”
Members of Orbez’s family addressed Vasquez Ramirez during Wednesday’s sentencing, describing the lasting impact of the killing.
“You did not only kill Aurelio. You took our father from us,” the family said in a statement. “You took away years we still had left to live with him, conversations we will never have, and moments we will never be able to recover.”
Orbez’s son, William, recalled his father’s empanadas and the way food helped him bring people together.
“Our father had flaws, like any human being, but his life cannot be reduced to the violent way it ended,” he said. “He was a person with a history, dreams, work, relationships, and a family that loved him. His absence has left a space that no one can replace.”
Tendy said no sentence could erase the loss suffered by Orbez’s family.
“This murderer took away a husband, father, uncle, and respected community member,” he said. “There is a hole in the Orbez family, and in the community, that will never be filled.”
The case was prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Breanne Smith and Melissa Lynch.
Article provided by Putnam County DA's Office
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