Slain body found in car confirmed as missing Elmont woman

The body found last week in a Lexus sedan parked on a Brooklyn street has been identified as that of Rose Ormejuste of Elmont, and her death has been ruled a homicide, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner's office said Monday.

Meanwhile, the Nassau County district attorney's office plans to present to a grand jury evidence against her son Dario Ormejuste, 24, who is accused of shooting and killing his immediate family: his mother Rose, father Bob Ormejuste, 65, and brother, Guerby Ormejuste, 30, a New York City correction officer.

"It's our intention to present the case to a grand jury this week," Assistant District Attorney Michael Walsh said in court Monday.

Police and prosecutors have not said what evidence they have against Dario Ormejuste, who has maintained his innocence. He has been held without bail in the Nassau County jail since the June 21 shootings.

Police have said Ormejuste used his brother's gun in the slayings.

The district attorney's decision to present the case to the grand jury came after Ormejuste's court-appointed attorney, Richard Barbuto of Mineola, Monday asked Nassau County Court Judge James P. McCormack for a felony exam hearing to determine what evidence authorities have to keep his client in jail. The hearing, set for Thursday, would not be held if Ormejuste is indicted.

Ormejuste has been charged with two counts of murder in the slayings of his father and brother.

Authorities searched two weeks for Rose Ormejuste, 65, before her body was found last Tuesday in the trunk of the family's 1998 Lexus sedan, parked near East 48th Street and Avenue J in Brooklyn.

Rose Ormejuste, 65, was shot in the head, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office said Monday.

Nassau police began their investigation June 23, when Dario Ormejuste's uncle, Tex Ormejuste, went to the home after Guerby Ormejuste missed work at Rikers Island for two days. Police said they found Guerby Ormejuste's body in the basement and his father's body in the kitchen.