Chicago man gets 30 years for I-90 murder

KXLY 4 News/courtesy photo Manuel Argomaniz-Camargo makes an appearance in Adams County Superior Court in March 2015.

by Richard Byrd
| January 26, 2017 2:00 AM

RITZVILLE — A Chicago man will spend 30 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend in front of their young son while high on drugs.

Manuel Argomaniz-Camargo, 34, of Chicago, previously reached a plea bargain with prosecutors from the state Attorney General’s Office, who were handling the case at the request of the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office, and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, with a deadly weapon enhancement, and possession of methamphetamine. Argomaniz-Camargo confessed to murdering his girlfriend, Ana Veronica Montelongo Garcia, 24, of Chicago, alongside Interstate 90 near Ritzville.

A few days before Garcia’s death she, Argomaniz-Camargo and their 3-year-old son left the Chicago area and embarked on a cross-country trip to Washington. Argomaniz-Camargo confided to investigators that during the trip he continuously snorted meth and cocaine to help him stay awake and drive straight from Chicago to Washington. Argomaniz-Camargo’s plan was to sell a pound of meth he had with him in the car and purchase a home in Washington. During the course of the trip Argomaniz-Camargo told his girlfriend to sleep but she refused, which he said made him nervous.

"Argomaniz described different things happening with the vehicle and Garcia being a witch and controlling various mechanical functions on the vehicle with her hands, feet and a chip in her mouth," according to court documents.

As they were nearing Ritzville on I-90 in the early morning hours of March 1, 2015 Argomaniz-Camargo stopped the car, opened the passenger side door and pushed Garcia out, telling her to call her mom. Garcia got back into the car and Argomaniz-Camargo grabbed her by the hair and yelled at her about wanting to kill them, “as she was doing witchcraft to the vehicle.”

Argomaniz-Camargo admitting to hitting his girlfriend in the cheek bone with a hammer as she was attempting to get to their son. He described placing a belt around her neck and dragging her out the boy’s point of view. The boy saw Argomaniz-Camargo hitting Garcia and said “Mommy, Daddy’s not good." Argomaniz-Camargo then proceeded to hit the victim with the hammer several more times.

"Argomaniz advised he tried to tape Garcia to the wheel with black electrical tape and was going to place a rock on the gas pedal to have her drive off; however, she was too bloody for the tape to grip," wrote a deputy. "This was also when her clothing was removed as he was trying to handle her and she kept slipping and the clothing was coming off."

Argomaniz-Camargo had a plan to burn the vehicle, but he said it wouldn’t ignite so he used a screwdriver to shove a shirt into the gas tank. He lit the end of the rag on fire and stabbed Garcia with the screwdriver a couple of times after she had already died.

A passerby contacted authorities after seeing Argomaniz-Camargo walking east on the north shoulder of westbound I-90 holding his son. Authorities responded to the scene and Argomaniz-Camargo was ordered to raised his hands and when he complied, the boy ran into the arms of a Washington State Patrol trooper.

The trooper’s suspicions were raised when Argomaniz-Camargo took off his jacket to reveal he wasn’t wearing a shirt, despite temperatures hovering in the mid-30s, and his hands were covered in blood. The area was searched and a blood trail was discovered along the north shoulder of I-90 leading to Argomaniz-Camargo’s vehicle. Garcia’s body was located near the left rear tire covered by a blanket.

Next to Garcia’s head was the cap to the gas tank, which was open with a rag inserted into the fill spout. Crystal meth was located on the pavement near the car and in a container that was recovered inside a duffel bag on the shoulder of I-90.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.