CARMEL, NEW YORK – June 18, 2026 – Putnam County District Attorney Robert V. Tendy announced the guilty plea of a Pawling, NY, man to Murder in the Second Degree. Santos Vasquez-Ramirez, 28, admitted to the intentional killing before the Putnam County Court Justice Anthony Molé.

The victim, Aurelio Orbez of Danbury, CT., was reported missing by his family to the Danbury Police Department on December 1, 2025. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Investigators, working with other law enforcement agencies, determined that Orbez, a taxicab driver, picked up Vasquez-Ramirez near the Brewster Metro-North Train Station on December 1, 2025. On December 5, 2025, Orbez’s cab was found abandoned at the Purdy Train Station. His body recovered the following day December 6, 2025, from the Croton Falls Reservoir.

After a swift but thorough investigation, Vasquez-Ramirez was identified as a suspect and arrested on December 12, 2025. During arrest processing, Vasquez-Ramirez admitted to Sheriff’s Investigators to engaging in a physical altercation with Orbez inside of his cab over a past unpaid fare, and to ultimately killing Orbez.

“The collaboration among agencies in this investigation in tracking down video surveillance, license plate reader footage, witness accounts and other information, was phenomenal. It was an around-the-clock effort on behalf of the entire Sheriff’s Office to put together hundreds of puzzle pieces that ultimately led to Vasquez-Ramirez’s arrest and plea of guilty. We hope that the hard work of all involved, and hearing Vasquez-Ramirez admit today, in open Court, to the murder of Aurelio Orbez provides some comfort to the family and friends of Mr. Orbez,” Tendy said.

Vasquez-Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced on August 26, 2026, to an indeterminate term of 21 years to life in state prison. He is in the US illegally. He has a prior arrest from August 2025 for DWI, but failed to appear in court and a warrant was ordered.
The case was prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Breanne Smith and Assistant District Attorney Melissa Lynch.