A Utah father is facing multiple charges and is thought to have fled the country after his 25-year-old sheriff’s deputy daughter was discovered dead.
The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said last month that deputy Marbella Martinez was found dead on August 1, less than six months after being sworn in as a prison officer.
At the time, the office said that the Tooele Police Department was looking into her death as “suspicious.”
Over a month later, a Tooele City Police Department representative tells PEOPLE that Martinez’s father, Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, is facing some charges, including 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 identification documents.
Authorities claim that Martinez-Ayala strangled his daughter and have “confiscated numerous items of interest to Hector, including his vehicle.”
Martinez was discovered by police shortly after 8 a.m. on August 1, when they responded to a welfare check.
Her body was discovered on her bed, with “apparent fingernail claw marks” on her face and neck.
Martinez lived with her father and returned home around 11 a.m. on July 31. She was last seen on an indoor camera around 12:23 p.m., before Martinez-Ayala arrived at 2:17 p.m., according to the outlet.
KSL, quoting prosecutors, stated that any footage collected following her father’s return home “was deleted or never existed because of the cameras’ disabling after his arrival.”
According to court documents obtained by the Associated Press, Martinez-Ayala had been stalking people for months. According to them, “text messages from the defendant to the victim are more of the nature of a jealous lover than a father.”
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According to the AP, his daughter discovered a bag of her underwear in his room, and Martinez-Ayala installed a tracking device on her vehicle to locate her at a hiking trail with a love partner.
Father is suspected to have disposed of Martinez’s phone on his way to the Salt Lake City Airport, as it was discovered alongside I-80.
Prosecutors said he traveled to San Francisco and then Houston before allegedly using his twin brother’s identification when he arrived in another nation. KSL reported that his “last known location” was outside the United States.
Sheriff Rosie Rivera stated last month, “Deputy Martinez was a dedicated member of our Sheriff’s Office family.” In her brief time with us, she became a close friend and an important member of our team. Her early and tragic demise is a tremendous loss for all of us.”
She said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time. We hope the investigation will yield answers and some justice for our Deputy and her family.”