Family says Embry-Riddle student’s 2020 death wasn’t a suicide

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The mother of an Embry-Riddle student whose 2020 shooting death was ruled a suicide by Daytona Beach police has filed a lawsuit over the death of her son.

In the lawsuit, the family claims they have evidence that proves Alexander Bello-Ortiz did not die by suicide. They said that includes a recording from a Ring camera that captured a conversation between one of Alex’s roommates and his dad after the shooting but before a 911 call.

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Family attorneys chose not to share that audio, but said in it that the dad allegedly asks, “Did you *expletive* kill him?” and the roommate responds, “I did *expletive.*”

In the 911 call that was released, the roommate allegedly says, “My roommate just collapsed he bleeding from one ear and his nose.”

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“If it’s up to me to not let anybody go through this, I will try to do that, by making sure whoever is responsible doesn’t do it again,” Bello-Ortiz’ mother Lourdes Ortiz said.

The family attorneys said they are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction.

They said a trial date for the lawsuit has been set for late 2024.

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