Who was “Cuquito”?

A composite sketch of “Cuquito” done by Tricia Blair

Case

On November 21st, 1982, a group of hunters made a grisly discovery in the woods: a man’s body bearing a gunshot wound. It was clear that he’d been murdered.

He was located roughly one hundred fifteen feet north of US-41 on Burns Road; which is approximately four miles east from the town of Ochopee, Florida, in Collier county.

In their investigation, police learned that a man with his description was brought in from Ochopee, suggesting possible ties to the Miami area. Further witness testimony revealed that a man named Jose Julian Ortega killed a man who went by “Cuckoo”.

This man was arrested and charged with murder, but for reasons unknown, the charges were dropped. They also found in their investigation that he might have been named “Eduardo Bellito DeLina”. Unfortunately, the man’s records proved that this was incorrect.

While the validity of these names is unknown, investigators learned that the man might have gone by the name “Cuquito”, “Cuckoo”, or “Kuku”.

Despite their best efforts, police could not identify the deceased, and tragically, the case remains unsolved to this day.

Personal Commentary

This case is rather odd, leaving me with multiple questions. Why were the charges against Jose Julian Ortega dropped?

Did he do it, or did someone else do it? Are the nicknames of the decedent his, or were they wrong? There are more questions than answers here.

On top of this, he has stayed unidentified for over forty years. This makes me wonder if he was from somewhere else, perhaps far outside of Florida.

Regardless, I hope he gets his name back, for his sake and the sake of his loved ones. May he rest in peace.

Description

The victim had medium length, wavy black hair and brown eyes, with tan skin. His face was shaved.

He stood at 5’ 10” — 6’ tall, weighing 180–200 pounds. He had multiple scars on his forehead and a healed scar on his right knee.

He was wearing a blue pullover sweater over another dark blue sweater, with black slacks, a brown belt, and white underwear.

A poorly done tattoo on his back depicted a wounded man on two crutches, behind two dogs and in front of a church, sunrise, and a mountain.

This tattoo might have been a depiction of Saint Lazarus, or the Santeria deity Babalú-ayé.

Authorities speculate that he might have been white and/or Hispanic, and to have been 30–60 years old at the time of his murder.

If you have any information on this case, please contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1–800–780-TIPS (1–800–780–8477).

Sources

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/568umfl.html

https://www2.colliersheriff.org/CaseProfiles/CCSOHomicide/CaseProfile.aspx?cid=1128&vid=140&i=33

https://www.namus.gov/UnidentifiedPersons/Case#/1266