Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, a 54-year-old man from Tooele, Utah, was charged with the murder of his daughter, Marbella Martinez, who was a corrections officer with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The charges allege that Martinez-Ayala had been engaging in obsessive and jealous behavior towards his daughter for months, including stalking and surveillance activities. The situation escalated when he placed a tracking device on her vehicle and later used it to find her with a romantic interest. On July 31, Martinez-Ayala allegedly strangled his daughter to death at their home.
After the murder, Martinez-Ayala fled the country, using his daughter’s bank card to withdraw money along the way. He sent a text message to his brother confessing to making a “big mistake” before disappearing. Authorities were able to track his location through his phone and other digital footprints. Martinez-Ayala was last seen passing through customs in an undisclosed country using his brother’s identification.
Marbella Martinez’s body was found in her bedroom on August 1 after police conducted a welfare check. In addition to the murder charge, Martinez-Ayala faces charges related to obstruction of justice, stealing a bank card, stalking, and identity theft. As of now, he does not have an attorney listed in Utah online court records, and attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful. The case remains under investigation as prosecutors work to bring Martinez-Ayala to justice for the alleged murder of his daughter.
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