Jury finds man guilty of killing Samantha Welch and Celia Cruz Reyes, setting house on fire to cover crime

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 16:57:22 -0500

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Adam Ruiz | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.

A man who called police in Denver in 2015 to confess to killing his half-sister, Samantha Welch, and her friend, Celia Cruz Reyes, on the Northwest Side in 2014, has been convicted of murder.

Adam Ruiz, 23, was found guilty of two counts of murder on Wednesday by a Cook County jury, following a trial that started March 10, according to Cook County state's attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.

On July 16, 2015, Ruiz called police in Denver and confessed to strangling the 22-year-old Reyes and 18-year-old Welch, the latter of whom was his half-sister, authorities said at the time. The women, who were best friends, were killed in October 2014 in a Kelvyn Park neighborhood home, which was then set on fire.

Ruiz, a former Chicago resident who had been living in Colorado, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and one count of aggravated arson while knowing someone was present, Chicago Police said at the time of his arrest. Detectives went to Denver and interviewed him before arresting and bringing him back to Chicago, a law enforcement source said at the time.

Samantha Welch (left) and Celia Cruz Reyes | Facebook

On the night of the fire, Oct. 16, 2014, firefighters and police officers found the bodies of the two women in the home in the 4500 block of West Parker Avenue, authorities said.

Autopsies initially came back inconclusive, but after Ruiz' arrest, the Cook County medical examiner's office said it had determined the women were strangled, and the fire was set to cover up the murders.

Reyes was a Carpentersville resident, the medical examiner’s office said, but Welch’s address wasn’t known.

Ruiz had been held without bond since being returned to Chicago on July 18, 2015. Judge Vincent Gaughan set an April 17 court date for post-trial motions and sentencing, Simonton said.

Man charged after deaths of Celia Cruz Reyes and Samantha Welch in fire on NW Side ruled homicides

Jeff Mayes — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 10:38:15 -0500

By REEMA AMIN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A 22-year-old man will appear in court Saturday after confessing to strangling Celia Cruz Reyes and Samantha Welch, one of whom was his sister, at a Northwest Side Kelvyn Park neighborhood home last October before setting the house on fire, authorities said.

Adam Ruiz | Chicago Police

Adam Ruiz, whose last known address was in Denver, Colo., was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson while knowing someone is present, Chicago Police said.

Ruiz was arrested Thursday in Denver after he called authorities and admitted committing the murders, police said. Detectives went to Denver and interviewed him before arresting him and bringing him back to Chicago, a law enforcement source said.

The source added that detectives have identified one of the victims as Ruiz’s sister.

On the night of the fire on Oct. 16, 2014, fire and police officials found the bodies of two women at a home in the 4500 block of West Parker Avenue, authorities said. They were identified as the 22-year-old Reyes and 18-year-old Welch.

At the time, autopsies for both came back inconclusive, pending further police and fire investigation. But on Saturday, police said authorities had determined the women were strangled, and the fire was set to cover up the murders.

It was not known which woman was Ruiz’s sister. Reyes lived in the 100 block of Birch Street in Carpentersville, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said at the time. Welch’s address wasn’t known.

The source said Ruiz may have previously lived in Chicago, since he was arrested for retail theft here in 2007.

In court Saturday, Ruiz was ordered held without bond.

Samantha Welch | Homicide Watch Chicago

Jury finds man guilty of killing Samantha Welch and Celia Cruz Reyes, setting house on fire to cover crime

Man charged after deaths of Celia Cruz Reyes and Samantha Welch in fire on NW Side ruled homicides