District Attorney Suzanne Valdez's Statement on State of Kansas vs. Carrody Buchhorn, Case No. 2017-CR-385
Ollie Ortiz died tragically. Perhaps equally tragic is the fact that nothing in our criminal justice system can return Ollie to his loved ones.
Prior to taking office on January 11, 2021, I was generally aware of this case, but I had no access to the file or authority to act prior to being sworn in as Douglas County District Attorney. When I took office, Carrody Buchhorn had already been convicted of Murder in the Second Degree and her appeal was pending.
The following is a brief timeline of key events in the case, which tragically began more than six years ago: