ALBERTVILLE– A Marshall County grand jury has indicted Hilario Rios-Ortiz on a murder charge in the 2025 shooting death of Olga Rios.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office announced the indictment Tuesday, Oct. 20. Investigators served it Oct. 14 while Rios-Ortiz remained in the Marshall County Jail.

In addition, court records cited by WAFF identify one count of murder. The indictment alleges that Rios-Ortiz intentionally caused Rios’s death by shooting her with a firearm.

The investigation began on the morning of Sept. 22, 2025, at a home on Martling Road near Terrell Road. Deputies and Albertville police officers responded after someone reported a woman shot in the yard.

At the scene, the first deputy found Rios’s adult son performing CPR on her. Marshall Ambulance Service personnel arrived soon afterward and determined that she had no signs of life.

Meanwhile, Marshall County Coroner Cody Nugent responded and ruled the death a homicide. Investigator Jordan Elliott processed the scene and began collecting evidence and information.

Investigators quickly identified Rios-Ortiz, Rios’s estranged husband, as a person of interest. Deputies arrested him later that morning on a charge of Certain Persons Forbidden to Possess a Firearm.

The Sheriff’s Office reported an initial bond of $100,000. The release also states that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Rios-Ortiz for removal based on his immigration status.

Later that evening, investigators and assisting local and federal agencies searched Rios-Ortiz’s mobile home on the same property. Authorities seized digital evidence, vehicles and a firearm.

The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences and the ATF’s NIBIN laboratory in Huntsville examined evidence from the case. The Marshall County District Attorney’s Office digital forensics lab processed electronic evidence.

Investigators secured additional search warrants as the case continued, collecting a large volume of digital material that required an extensive review.

Investigators later presented the case to a grand jury, which returned the indictment against Rios-Ortiz. Sheriff Phil Sims said the investigation required more than a year of sustained work from Elliott and numerous assisting agencies.

“Our commitment to the victims of violent crime and their families does not diminish with the passage of time,” Sims said.

Although the indictment marks an important step in the judicial process, Sims stressed that the case is not over. He also extended his condolences to Rios’s family and friends.

The Sheriff’s Office thanked the local, state and federal agencies that assisted with the investigation.

An indictment represents a formal accusation and does not establish guilt. Rios-Ortiz is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

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