A probable cause document obtained by PEOPLE claims that the Utah father who is being investigated by police for the alleged murder of his sheriff’s deputy daughter texted his brother, telling him he “made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin.”
In the probable cause affidavit, it is stated that Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, 54, texted his sibling at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 31, the day before police found the body of his daughter, 25-year-old Marbella Martinez, in the Tooele home the couple shared, at approximately 8 a.m. on Thursday, Aug 1.
After the text about the “unforgivable sin,” Martinez-Ayala allegedly texted, “Now I’m too scared and I don’t know what to do. I think I will never come back,” per the affidavit.
Martinez was found “lying on top of the bed, covered with a blanket up to her neck,” according to the affidavit of the officers. It had been a strangulation.
Martinez was slain by the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office less than six months after taking the oath of office as a prison officer.
Martinez-Ayala was charged on Friday, September 6 with murder, two counts of obstruction of justice, stalking a cohabitant, unlawful possession of a financial transaction card, unlawful use of a financial transaction card, and unlawful possession of another person’s identifying documents. According to the authorities, Martinez-Ayala left the country after his daughter died.
“We as a department are working with numerous agencies around the clock to bring Hector into custody for what he did,” Tooele City Police Department Corporal Colbey Bentley tells PEOPLE. “We have confiscated numerous items of interest to Hector, including his vehicle. As we strive to give Deputy Marbella Martinez the justice she is owed, we plead with anyone who may have helpful information or who may be actively helping hide Hector to do the right thing and help us bring Hector into custody for what he did.”
The authorities claim in the affidavit that Martinez-Ayala stalked his daughter for months and that his behaviour towards her had become “increasingly troublesome”.
“Text records show that the defendant was becoming increasingly obsessed and controlling with the victim,” the affidavit alleges. “The text message records show text messages from the defendant to the victim are more of the nature of a jealous lover than a father.”
According to the prosecution, Martinez discovered a bag containing her pants in his room, and Martinez-Ayala had hidden a tracking device on her car in an attempt to locate her.
On July 29, according to the authorities, he utilised the monitoring device to locate her and her romantic interest at Bates Canyon, a hiking area. Martinez reportedly stayed at a hotel following the incident, but on July 31 he went back home. At 12:23 p.m. that day, she was last seen inside her house on camera. Martinez-Ayala, according to the authorities, got home at 2:17 p.m.
“The last camera notification on the victim’s phone occurred at 2:17 p.m., which means that the cameras were disabled or disconnected from the internet at this time,” states the affidavit. “Any video after the defendant arrives at 2:17 p.m. July 21, 2024, was deleted or never existed because of the disabling of the camera after his arrival.”
Martinez-Ayala texted his brother a little over two hours later, according to the affidavit.
“My brother, you know how much I love you, I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin, and now I’m too scared and I don’t know what to do. I think I will never come back,” he allegedly texted.
Martinez-Ayala was accused by the authorities of throwing away his daughter’s cell phone and then heading to the Salt Lake City airport. According to the complaint, he used his brother’s identity “when he landed in another country and is seen on surveillance video” after taking flights to San Francisco and Houston. “The defendant’s whereabouts are unknown, but his last known location was outside of the United States.”
