Woman strangled in Wilmington home: What court documents show

Leonor Gonzalez-Ortiz's girlfriend had not seen her for several days.

According to court documents, this was “unusual,” so the friend called police to the 89-year-old's home in Wilmington's Hedgeville neighborhood to check on the man's well-being.

An hour later, police found Gonzalez-Ortiz dead in her basement. And on Monday, 37-year-old Cynthia Viquez was charged with murder.

What happened on September 3rd?

Court documents obtained by Delaware Online/The News Journal show that Viquez was called to Gonzalez-Ortiz's home around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 3 to allow police entry using a key she was carrying.

When they inspected the house, Wilmington police officers noticed the basement door was barricaded. According to court documents, they managed to enter the house and found Gonzalez-Ortiz unconscious. She was wrapped tightly in blankets and covered with “various objects” and pieces of wood. She was pronounced dead by paramedics at 8:23 p.m.

Viquez was taken to the Wilmington Police Department for questioning, court records say. Viquez told officers she did not know what happened to Gonzalez-Ortiz and said she was told Gonzalez-Ortiz had left town. Her account of events, detailed in court records, later changed — several times.

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The second story

After initially claiming she knew nothing, Viquez told investigators that Gonzalez-Ortiz came into her bedroom on the evening of Aug. 30 and tried to choke her, according to court records. Viquez said she was able to pry Gonzalez-Ortiz's hands from around her neck, but Gonzalez-Ortiz began pulling her hair.

Viquez then grabbed a glass pitcher that was next to her bed and struck Gonzalez-Ortiz twice in the back of the head, breaking the pitcher. She told police she was able to push Gonzalez-Ortiz off of her and onto the floor, court documents say, and then went to the bathroom for about a half hour. When she returned, she said Gonzalez-Ortiz was gone.

The following evening, Viquez told police she got out of the shower and saw “a bunch” of text messages sent to someone whose name and relationship to her had been redacted. Viquez showed the messages to investigators, court documents say.

The messages said Gonzalez-Ortiz attacked Viquez in her bed and that Viquez “thought someone was trying to kill her.” She wrote that she hit Gonzalez-Ortiz in the head and “jumped on her,” court documents say.

A few messages later, Viquez wrote that she hit and choked Gonzalez-Ortiz with her lamp, court records show. However, Viquez said she did not send the messages, but rather someone took her phone and sent them while she was in the shower.

The third story

On Sept. 4, the day after Viquez's arrest, police interviewed the person Viquez had sent the text message to, according to court records. After acknowledging receipt of the text message, Viquez admitted that she had indeed sent it.

However, she said she lied to him about the details “because she didn't want to tell him exactly what happened,” and stated that she never choked Gonzalez-Ortiz.

According to Wilmington police, Viquez was charged with first-degree assault that same day and booked into Baylor Women's Correctional Institution.

An autopsy of Gonzalez-Ortiz determined her death was homicide by strangulation, according to court records. Charges against Viquez were updated Monday to first-degree murder and making false statements to police, police said. She remains in custody on more than $1 million bail.

Wilmington police did not respond to questions about the relationship between Gonzalez-Ortiz and Viquez.

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at [email protected]. For more stories, follow her on X at @h_edelman.

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