Christopher Cater, on the left, and Sheila Ortega, on the right, appear inset against an image of a mall parking lot where the woman’s body was found on Aug. 21, 2023 in Lake Charles, La. (Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office; Facebook; Screengrab via KPLC)
A Louisiana man killed a septuagenarian woman and drove around with her body for over four weeks, all the while stealing her identity to take out several loans, authorities in the Pelican State say.
Christopher Talton Cater, 41, stands accused of one count each of murder in the second degree, unlawful disposal of human remains, and identity theft, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“We have seen some strange cases here in Calcasieu Parish, but this case is definitely an unusual one for us,” Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said in an Aug. 22, press release. “We have never seen someone drive around with a dead body in the SUV for 30 days.”
Sheila Ortega, 72, was reported missing by her family members on Sunday, Aug. 20, the sheriff’s office said. Ortega’s relatives told deputies they had not spoken with her in roughly a month. At around 3:30 p.m. on the day the report was filed, law enforcement visited a residence as part of their investigation, but turned up empty-handed.
The next day would prove a bit more eventful.
On Monday, Aug. 21, detectives located the missing woman’s SUV in the parking lot of a mall, the CPSO said. Investigators also found the woman’s dead body inside her vehicle. Calling Cater a “person of interest” in the investigation, detectives located him at a business near where Ortega’s small truck had been parked.
According to Lake Charles-based NBC/CW affiliate KPLC, the vehicle and the deceased were found at Prien Lake Mall.
The defendant allegedly became a “person of interest” in the case after being spotted driving the missing woman’s SUV on the same day she was reported missing. A deputy even pulled him over.
“She’s entered into the system that evening,” Mancuso told KPLC. “About 8 p.m. a deputy does a traffic stop, meets the guy at the car, and doesn’t see anything. (The deputy) asked if he knows her whereabouts, he said ‘Yes.’”
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Cater allegedly told the first deputy he had recently taken Ortega to stay with friends in Arkansas and would be going to pick her back up in a few days, the sheriff added. The defendant was then told he was free to go.
A different deputy found the parked SUV the next day and took the extra step of looking inside the vehicle.
“Obviously (this deputy) took a little more initiative and ended up finding her body in the car,” Mancuso continued, in comments to KPLC. “We immediately find him nearby and when we confront him, he says ‘I know why you’re here.’”
The sheriff’s office said Cater, identified as “an acquaintance of Ortega,” ultimately admitted to killing her.
“When detectives spoke with Cater he advised deputies he killed Ortega approximately one month ago,” the CPSO’s press release reads. “Cater also admitted to detectives to opening several loans using Ortega’s information, after her death.”
Both the deceased woman and her alleged killer hail from Lake Charles, a relatively large city of petrochemical industry and Cajun culture in southwestern Louisiana near the southeast Texas border.
“My prayers go out to the family and friends of Mrs. Sheila, this is a senseless and inhumane tragedy,” Mancuso added. “The body has been sent off for further testing and to determine the cause of death. The investigation is continuing.”
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told Law&Crime there are no updates or additional details they can share due to the nature of the “ongoing investigation.” A public records request was filed with the parish for additional information and files relevant to the case.
The defendant is currently being detained in the Calcasieu Correctional Center, jail records show. His bond is pending.
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