CARMEL, NY — A Pawling man pleaded guilty to Murder in the Second Degree in Putnam County Court on June 18, 2026.
Santos Vasquez-Ramirez, 28, admitted to the intentional killing before Justice Anthony Molé.
The victim, Aurelio Orbez of Danbury, Connecticut, was reported missing by his family to the Danbury Police Department on Dec. 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 Dec. 1, 2025.
On Dec. 5, 2025, Orbez’s cab was found abandoned at the Purdy Train Station.
His body was recovered the following day from the Croton Falls Reservoir.
Vasquez-Ramirez was identified as a suspect and arrested on Dec. 12, 2025.
During arrest processing, Vasquez-Ramirez admitted to sheriff’s investigators to engaging in a physical altercation with Orbez inside his cab over a past unpaid fare, and to killing Orbez.
Vasquez-Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26, 2026, to an indeterminate term of 21 years to life in state prison.
