Father charged in death of Utah sheriff’s deputy

TOOELE, Utah ( KTVX ) — The man who allegedly killed his daughter, a Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy, has been charged with murder, a first-degree felony.

Hector Martinez-Ayala, 54, previously a person of interest, was charged by Third District Court after his daughter Marbella Martinez, 25, was found dead by police in Tooele on Aug. 1.

Along with the murder charge, Martinez-Ayala has been charged with two counts of obstructing justice, stalking current or former cohabitant, unlawful transaction – possession or transfer of a financial transaction card, two counts of unlawful use of a transaction card, and unlawful possession of another’s identification documents.

According to charging documents, Martinez-Ayala reportedly sent a text message to his brother saying he may never return.

“My brother, you know [how] much I love you. I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin, now I’m too scared and I don’t know what to do. I think I will never come back,” he said.

Nexstar’s KTVX previously reported Martinez was found dead at a Tooele home by police responding to a welfare check.

The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office stated in August that Tooele Police were investigating Martinez’s death as suspicious.

Charging documents state that the last known video of the 25-year-old came from an indoor camera around 12:30 p.m. Martinez-Ayala came home just after 2 p.m. according to the camera notifications on his phone.

The camera notifications stopped afterward and video after that does not exist or was deleted because of the disabling of the cameras.

Charging documents say Martinez-Ayala took Martinez’s phone and disposed of it on his way to Salt Lake City International Airport. He flew from Salt Lake to San Francisco, then to Houston. After leaving Houston, there are no cell phone records available, investigators said.

He allegedly used his twin brother’s identification when he landed in another country.

Documents said the whereabouts of Martinez-Ayala are not known, however, his last known location was outside of the U.S.

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