'Bright as a star': Family of woman found dead in Fountain Creek reflects on her life

Cathy Peralta remembers her sister Renee Portillos as a role model and a caring person. She said when they were little and their mother needed help, it was Portillos who stepped up to help raise her younger siblings.

"My other sister, a year older than me, had cancer when she was three years old,” Peralta recalled.

“My sister Renee stepped up and was always taking care of us. When my mom had to go to Denver, visit my grandma, or whatever, she stepped up to take care of us. Later on, she started her own family, but we were always between houses, either we were at her house or she was at ours. We were never apart."

But on Jan. 10, Portillos was found dead and dismembered in Fountain Creek, the victim of an apparent homicide. Pueblo police announced the following day that they’d arrested Solomon Martinez, 26, in connection with her death. Martinez was charged with first-degree murder.

"I want her to be remembered as a loving, caring, great role model,” Peralta said of her sister. “She was bright as a star. She was beautiful, kind, sweet, compassionate, and had empathy. She was really funny. We're going to miss her. We're going to miss everything about her."

While Portillos was a widow, Peralta described her as a loving wife and mother who cared deeply for her children.

She was the mother of three kids and the grandmother of four grandchildren. Her loss has been devastating to the entire family, Peralta said.

"I talk to my niece every day. She's the one who has to handle everything along with me and she's broken. The two girls and my nephew are broken," she said.

However, Peralta said, the whole family has come together to support each other through their grief. "They're taking it hard, but now I'm talking to my nieces and stuff, I'm kind of helping them to cope," she said. Peralta also noted that her younger sister has been involved and helps as much as she can.

While Portillos was temporarily homeless at the time of the murder, Peralta vehemently denied that her sister was a "prostitute" — a claim Martinez made during an interview with police.

Peralta said her theory is that her sister was likely at a store, maybe asking people for change to help her buy food or cigarettes, at which point the person who killed her may have offered to help and then kidnapped her.

“The way that guy took advantage of her, it was really sick," she said.

Peralta said she was taken aback to learn that her sister was the victim of such a gruesome and violent crime.

"For something like this to happen in Pueblo, that's pretty crazy," Peralta said. "The coroner told us this is the worst case he's ever worked on."

Peralta said what the family wants more than anything is justice for Portillos.

"I also have to remember that I walk with Jesus and I have to learn to forgive that guy, but all we want is justice for her," she said.

She also noted that the family is holding out hope that the rest of her sister’s remains can be located, as investigators have only managed to recover about 40% of her remains so far.

"We want her to be whole when we cremate her," she said.

What we know about the homicide case

Police received a report of a homicide on Jan. 10 and responded to Fountain Creek just south of Highway 47, where they located a body that was later identified as Portillos.

The Pueblo Police Department's investigation led them to arrest Martinez. When officers made the arrest, they discovered a severed hand in Martinez's pocket, believed to belong to Portillos.

Martinez denied involvement in her death but was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder.

He's being held at the Pueblo County jail on a $1 million cash-only bond. His next appearance in court is scheduled for Feb. 21.

More Pueblo crime news: Pueblo man sentenced to probation for fatally shooting trespassing neighbor in 2022

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo woman found dead and dismembered in creek remembered by family