INDIANAPOLIS — One person has finally been sentenced in a 2019 murder.
Monday, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Fernando Bornstein will spend 55 years in prison for the murder of Meliton Salazar near downtown Indianapolis.
It was October 9th, 2019, when police arrived at the area of West Washington Street and South White River Parkway Drive on a report of a person injured. That’s where police found Salazar, who was under a bridge and taken to Eskenazi Hospital. He died the next day.
Police learned that Salazar met a woman named Jacqueline Lizarraga on the White River Trail, and then Bornstein and another man attacked Salazar, shooting him with his own gun and beating him with a hammer. Lizarraga denied she had anything to do with the attack, but investigators found social media posts that linked Lizarraga to the other people involved.
Lizarraga and Andy Orellana were charged with murder. Their cases are still pending. Jayzn Martin was also charged in Salazar’s murder. He pled guilty for this case and three other, unrelated cases.
“This marks the conclusion of Bornstein’s case,” Prosecutor Mears stated. “Moving forward, there is still much work to be done in ensuring that all parties are held accountable for their actions in this tragic murder.”
