In December, El Paso police responded to a 911 call from a woman who had allegedly fatally shot her husband at their South-Central residence.
When police officers arrived at the scene, they found the husband lying dead on a bed with a knife in his left hand. He had been shot more than once, according to an affidavit filed by an El Paso police homicide detective.
Woman Told Cops She Shot Her Husband After He Raped Her, Attacked Her with Knife
Luz Elena Martinez, 54, told police she fatally shot her husband, Jose Luis Avalos Reyes, 47, because he allegedly attacked her with a knife after raping her, as reported by the El Paso Times. The shooting occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 27 at a home in the 400 block of French Place, near Delta Park. When police arrived, they also found a pistol on a nightstand next to the bed.
The investigation allegedly discovered several inconsistencies in the account that Martinez had given. She allegedly told witnesses that she shot Reyes, the affidavit stated. Detectives learned that Martinez phoned a relative at 4:27 a.m. after the shooting before calling 911 at 4:39 a.m., the affidavit stated.
Investigators Found Knife in Reyes’ Left Hand but He was Right-Handed
A sexual assault evidence kit was done on Martinez by a sexual assault nurse examiner. Martinez had told the nurse, “at one point he came at me with a knife so I shot him, then he stood up with the knife and I shot him again,” the affidavit stated. The affidavit does not say whether Martinez was actually sexually assaulted.
According to the affidavit, evidence at the scene indicated that Reyes was lying down on the bed when he was shot at a close distance, contradicting what Martinez had told the nurse, alleging that he stood up with the knife. The knife was also found in Reyes’ left hand, but detectives later found out that he was right handed, detectives noted.
Martinez Found Out Reyes was Cheating on Her, Had Hired a Private Investigator to Spy on Him
As the investigation continued, detectives learned that Martinez had discovered that Reyes was having an extramarital affair, the affidavit stated. Martinez had hired a private investigator to follow her husband and she had also hired a divorce lawyer. Detectives alleged that Martinez intentionally shot and killed her husband after learning about the affair.
On March 11, a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force arrested Martinez on Alameda Avenue near Fox Plaza on a warrant on a murder charge for allegedly killing Reyes, police officials said. Martinez is being held under a $500,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail Annex. She does not have a lawyer listed on court records.
