An El Paso woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for murdering her husband in December 2023, after discovering he was cheating.
According to court records, Luz Elena Martinez, 54, pleaded guilty to murder and received a 20-year sentence on May 13 for shooting and killing her husband, Jose Luis Avalos Reyes, on December 27, 2023, at their house in South Central El Paso.
According to documents obtained from the El Paso Police Department, Martinez discovered that Avalos Reyes was having an extramarital affair and hired a private investigator and a lawyer to divorce him; however, before they could begin the divorce proceedings, Martinez shot Avalos Reyes at close range while he was lying in bed.
According to police documents, Martinez initially claimed that she shot Avalos Reyes in self-defense, telling investigators that he approached her with a knife.
When authorities arrived at the home, they discovered Martinez seated in a taxi van outside and Avalos Reyes dead in bed, with the gun on the nightstand and a knife in his left hand (which later detectives established was his non-dominant hand).
Investigators eventually discovered that Martinez admitted to shooting Reyes to a witness, whom she had called before dialing 911 the night of the murder.
The US Marshals Fugitive Task Force captured Martinez on March 11, 2024, in the 5700 block of Alameda Avenue on a murder warrant.
Leave a Comment