An El Paso woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting her cheating husband days after Christmas 2023.
Luz Elena Martinez pleaded guilty to a murder charge and was sentenced on May 13 before Judge Patricia Baca of the 346th District Court. Martinez will receive credit for more than two years (794 days) she spent in jail awaiting trial, court records showed.
An investigation by El Paso police detectives found that Martinez, then 54, killed her husband, Jose Luis Avalos Reyes, 47, after discovering he was having an extramarital affair, a complaint affidavit filed by a detective stated. Martinez had hired a private investigator to follow her husband and a divorce attorney.
Husband killed in bed of South-Central El Paso home
The shooting occurred around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, 2023 at a home in the 400 block of French Place, near Delta Park in South-Central El Paso.
Police officers responding to a 911 call entered the home to find Reyes dead on a bed. He had been shot more than once. A knife was by his left hand. A pistol was on a nightstand next to the bed, the affidavit stated.
Martinez claimed she shot her husband when he came at her with a knife and that he had sexually assaulted her, but police said that the investigation found inconsistencies in her statements.
Evidence indicated that Reyes was lying down on the bed when he was shot at a close distance, contradicting Martinez’s claim he stood up with the knife. Also, the knife was by Reyes’ left hand, but he was right handed, the affidavit stated.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso woman gets 20 years in shooting death of cheating husband
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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