This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A US Border Patrol supervisor has been charged with murdering four women during a two-week killing spree in Texas that ended when a fifth woman escaped from him and found help.

Juan David Ortiz was arrested on Saturday after he was found hiding in a truck in a hotel parking lot in Laredo.

Webb County district attorney Isidro Alaniz said he was charged with four counts of murder as well as aggravated assault and unlawful restraint.

The victims, who worked as prostitutes, had been murdered since 3 September. Alaniz said authorities consider Ortiz a serial killer.

The names of the victims have not been released but Alaniz said two were US citizens. Nationalities of the others are not yet known.