A New York man has been arrested and is accused of admitting to choking a taxi driver to death during a dispute over payment before dumping the victim’s body near a nearby reservoir, authorities said.
Santos Vasquez-Ramirez was taken into custody Friday at his home in Pawling, upstate New York, in connection with the Dec. 1 killing of Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office announced Saturday.
Santos Vasquez-Ramirez, 27, was arrested at his home Friday and allegedly confessed to strangling Aurelio Zhunio-Orbez to death.
Authorities said Vasquez-Ramirez did not know the victim personally but had previously used his taxi services. He was picked up by the 66-year-old cab driver in Brewster, where the two reportedly became involved in a dispute that ended with Zhunio-Orbez’s death, police said.
Vasquez-Ramirez is accused of dragging the body into nearby woods, with the victim’s remains later found floating in the Croton Falls Reservoir the same day, authorities said.
“He drove him in the past,” Putnam County Sheriff Brian Hess said at a news conference Saturday. “The suspect states that’s what the reason for the fare dispute was — a prior taxi ride.”
Zhunio-Orbez, 66, a devoted family man, was senselessly killed during a dispute over a taxi fare, authorities said.
After the killing, the suspect allegedly drove off in the victim’s black Toyota Sienna and later abandoned the vehicle at the Purdy’s Metro-North train station, about 15 minutes south of Brewster.
The accused was seen flashing a wide smile at reporters Saturday as sheriff’s deputies escorted him to a waiting patrol car, a large red abrasion clearly visible on his right cheek.
The suspect flashed a broad grin at Post photographers as he was led out of the sheriff’s office in handcuffs.
“This was a brutal and senseless act of violence against a hardworking man who earned his living serving this community,” Sheriff Brian Hess said in a statement. “Mr. Orbez was a father of four, a resident of Danbury, Connecticut, and someone who did not deserve the fate he suffered.”
Authorities credited the arrest to “old-fashioned police work,” saying investigators carried out an extensive video canvas, reviewing footage from dozens of trains, platforms, and street cameras to identify and locate the suspect.
Zhunio-Orbez was remembered on social media as a devoted family man.
Vasquez-Ramirez allegedly dumped the cab driver’s body before stealing his car and abandoning it at Purdy’s Metro-North train station.
“My uncle was a dedicated father, brother, uncle, and friend,” niece Isabel Alvarado wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to support the family. “He was deeply loved within his community and beyond. As a local taxi driver, he built strong connections with the people he served, and many came to appreciate his kindness, generosity, and hard work.”
The fundraising page has raised more than $8,500 toward a $12,000 goal.
Vasquez-Ramirez faces charges of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
