Her “obsessive” father, a Utah sheriff's deputy whose body was found last month, has been charged with her murder, having reportedly described the killing as an “unforgivable sin” before stealing her twin brother's identity documents to flee the country.
Hector Ramon Martinez Ayala, 54, was charged Friday after the body of Marbella Martinez, 25, the daughter of a Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy, was discovered in her Tooele home during a welfare check on Aug. 1. According to Fox 13.
Investigators said the text messages from an “obsessive and controlling father” were “more characteristic of a jealous lover than a father.”
In February, Martinez found a bag containing underwear in her father's room. KSL reported.
Investigators said the man had placed a tracking device and hidden camera in his daughter's car in July in order to follow her while she went on vacation with her boyfriend.
Martinez Ayala is accused of strangling his daughter, an SLCSO corrections officer, to death on July 31.
“Brother, you know I love you. I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin. Now I'm scared and don't know what to do. I don't think I'll ever come back,” the mentally ill father allegedly texted his twin brother on July 31, before flying out of the country using the brother's identity documents.
His whereabouts are unknown.
Martinez, a recent academy graduate, became a corrections officer on Jan. 11.
“In the short time she was with us she became a treasured friend and an integral part of our team,” Sheriff Rosie Rivera said with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. Facebook Announcement.
The charges against Martinez Ayala include murder, stalking and obstruction of justice.
