A WOMAN has told the Superior Court that the motorist who died after his pickup truck drove off Suicide Cliff in Marpi on Dec. 8, 2020 was her husband. She is now petitioning the court to give her another option in identifying the body so that her husband’s estate could be settled.
Marilou B. Ortega, in a petition for letters of administration and appointment for administrator, said the decedent was her husband, Jessie Ruiz Ortega who would have turned 52 on Dec. 25, 2020.
The Department of Public Safety has informed her that DNA verification may take approximately one year.
In her petition, Mrs. Ortega stated that the black 2007 Toyota Tacoma that fell off Suicide Cliff was owned by and registered to her husband.
She said she and her husband operate Ortega Corp., which owns real property and other businesses in the CNMI. They also have two adult children, she added.
She said her last contact with her husband was on Dec. 8, 2020, and he had not returned home nor had he had any contact with anyone since then.
She said her husband was in severe distress regarding a business matter and had sought legal assistance from an attorney.
She is asking the court to allow “alternate and expeditious options for the verification of the remains,” which are at the morgue of the Commonwealth Health Center.
She also wants the court to issue a determination that the fatality in the Marpi incident was her husband, Jessie R. Ortega.
Mr. Ortega owned 90,000 shares of the family-owned Ortega Corp. while his wife Marilou Ortega owns 10,000 shares, according to her petition.
Mrs. Ortega is represented by attorney Robert T. Torres who stated that the corporation operates a small construction company, JMJ Construction, with two pending small renovation projects.
Torres said Ortega Corp. has a checking account with First Hawaiian Bank under Ortega Corp. JMJ Construction, and a checking account with the Bank of Hawaii.
The company employs seven workers, several of whom are CWs subject to renewal.
Ortega Corp. also has a business license for a fishing venture with two boats and a business, Tomas Fish Mobile, in Chalan Kanoa.
Torres said the company has receivables due approximately $65,000 from the Public School System for completed projects/contracts.
He said the company’s liabilities include a $25,000 loan with the Small Business Administration that was taken last November, a $5,000 loan balance with Isla Financial from the purchase of a boat engine from Joeten Motors, and CNMI Gross Revenue Taxes due.
Ortega Corp. owns several vehicles and construction equipment, the lawyer added.
He said Mr. Ortega is the sole proprietor of JMJ Apartment Rental, which operates five apartment units in upper Chinatown.
Ortega Corp. also owns real properties, including 512 square meters in Chalan Kanoa on a 25-year lease, a leased lot in Dandan where the family lives, as well as the business office of the corporation.
In addition, Torres said the corporation leased for 55 years a lot in Marpo Heights on Tinian where Mr. Ortega used to house his employees when they had projects for PSS on that island.
Mrs. Ortega’s petition is scheduled to be heard before Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Feb. 4, 2021.
